Halloween '19: A Winged Necromancer in Avernus

Thought of this idea on Monday; but life got in the way. Details of which are beyond the scope of this blog. This is a sequel blog entry to my blog post on whether to play an aasimar or tiefling during Season 9 of Adventurers League.

I've come to loggerheads over the aasimar PC largely because I can't quite figure out, which Xanathar's sub-class to select for the PC. Right now, there's about five. The diversity of abilities intrigues me especially because I think I can emulate some feat abilities without needing feats. However, we're talking no ability score increases or feats until after 13th level at the earliest. Not much in power level above third level in any single class too. More of a novelty character.

But I digress...

The winged necromancer whose the subject for today is...

A tiefling.

Not just any tiefling though.

A tiefling based on my very first tiefling PC.

My tiefling PC who ran around Sigil fighting Paladins from the Prime when he wasn't attending to the Mortuary as a member of the Dust Men. He also was Specialist Wizard focusing on the study of Necromancy.

Yes, a tiefling Necromancer from the days of AD&D 2E Planescape!

Since Season 9 of Adventurers League is a tie-in to the Descent into Avernus Hardcover Module during which the PCs travel to the first layer of the Nine Hells, I decided it would be a hoot to recreate the old Planescape PC for a story arc that occurs on another plane and utter obscure, to the other players, Planescape references!

Not to mention playing a winged character to boot.

The aasimar concept was winning out though. I really hadn't brushed up on Planescape Cant though. Playing a mere tiefling character felt too generic; and I wasn't sure I wanted to create a single classed necromancer. We're talking five to six levels before the concept can come to life (ha! life!) here. The novelty aasimar concept depends on playing the character during Season 9 too in order to use Xanathar's. Playing a necromancer - even a winged one - isn't too unusual to win the novelty war.

Planescape tieflings didn't have wings./

However, on Monday, the proximity of Halloween must've served as a stroke of inspiration.

He'd be a descendant of my Planescape Tiefling who grew up on the Prime, i.e. Faerun. He'd hold many of the Dust Men beliefs; yet wouldn't be a Dust Men. Like his ancestor, he'd be an evil Necromancer; but a lawful one. Not saying he wouldn't be a member of a faction. Adventurers League mandates faction membership for evil characters. The Zhentarim is the obvious for such a macabre character.

His name or what he's called is: The Mortician.

Like his Dust Men ancestor, The Mortician takes care of the dead. He also holds many of the same Dust Men beliefs such as the True Death. He's a necromancer because necromancy aids his task since animating dead bodies eliminates the need to hire help to move them. The Mortician is much too weak to move them otherwise. The Faction Agent background will be modified to include to the Medicine skill, as he's familiar with anatomy, and alchemical supplies due to knowledge of embalming and the like.

Once The Mortician is high enough in level, he'll employ an army of the animated dead against the fiends from Avernus. Just imagine a group of skeletons or zombies dogpiling one! So what if it's a local's deceased loved one? The Mortician is taking care of the corpse albeit not how they envisioned. He is Lawful Evil after all - and one step closer to True Death.

A mortician of fiendish heritage flying with leathery wings commanding a squad of undead when is about as much a Halloween concept as it gets! Commanding them against fiends from and on Avernus itself is the D&D equivalent of Creature Commandos!

Halloween is tomorrow.

Happy Gaming!

Halloween '19: The Haunting of Little Rose Orphanage

The following is a work of fiction. A product of a live-action role-playing group playing a game Minds Eye Theater: Werewolf the Apocalypse. Any references to real world people or places is coincidental.

Tom approaches the Sept Leadership: 

*cough* *cough* Here is my accounting of the most recent venture. I will do my best to tell the story to the best of my abilities. (Tom has a zero rating in Performance)

The intrepid and experienced pack returned to the caern just after my meeting with all of you. I had arrived at this place of utmost import because a ghost and my jaggling fox spirit companion told me I should seek it out. First member of the pack I greeted was a lynx by shaking her paw. We gave informal introductions. One of them says 'Are you related to Huckelberry' 

'nope'.

 Everyone gives formal introductions Joe (sept leader, Japanese kitsune) and master of rite mention Little Rose. We were to investigate and deduce how to cleanse.

Jimmy drives avoiding Stratford toward Little Rose going through Marshfield stopping at Thad Chicken in Arpin. The lynx offers a treat to me. It's cat food. 'Uh, no.' Jimmy reaches over while driving grabbing a handful.  While driving through Marshfield the pack doesn't detect anything out of place...  The day has become night by the time we leave Marshfield. Between during Marshfield and Little Rose, we see  a sole house which has a white picket fence on both sides of the house. In fact, the white picket fence is perpendicular to the street and exists on both sides of the road too. No lights. No one outside. The lynx asks Tom, yes I am speaking of myself in the third person and will continue to do so henceforth,  what he thinks.

'Not as experienced as you all so I leave it you?'

 Jimmy continues driving.

We reach a crossroads in Little Rose.
Abandoned Building lit up with sign ' misspelled Academy Orphanage'. Across street field and forest. Across other street is a gas station. 'Just like Spotted Cow' neon purple inside widow of 2 story building. Across is abandoned lot. *Tom's faces scrunches up in recollection* I had seen three separate groups of ghosts by the abandoned orphanage.

'there is a lot of dead people there'

jimmy ' you see dead people?'

 'Maybe... there's 4 or 5 kids, 4 or 5 teenagers, and an old hag'.

Around this time I recollected who the members of the pack are:
 Brad the  black fury cliath galliard is a loremaster
 Jimmy fostern theurge.
Jenny the lynx is adren.
 Then there is Sean Moore.

Upon learning none of them can see the ghosts themselves, Tom mentions a tincture with which group can see ghosts.

Jimmy and Tom go speak with the ghosts. Kids front yard. Teenagers  2nd floor thru windows. Old hag atop roof glowers at me. Speak to the kids in English. No response until they speak to Tom. He doesn't understand. The appearance of the kids little boy slacks, dress shoes, combed over slick black hair. Formal dress code.

 Jimmy '60s or sooner'.

 2 girls wear long dresses with long straight hair. Black and brown hair.
 Jimmy 'hmm 40s to 60s'.

Old hag chiselled nun face. All their clothes are in tatters. 5 kids are happy. Jimmy recalls there was a fire based on research and dilapidated look. Tom sees flashes how it used to look
 Mouths moving. Can't hear words but laughing. We do charades eventually learning can't enter because of the kids. Can't hear the hag due to kids.

I mention at this point that the Tincture requires consecrated grave dirt. Brad mentions cemetary with abandoned catholic cemetary on hwy 153 between Little Rose and Stratford. We ride there. We maintain there graves. Jimmy the horticulturalist identifies weeds which we rip up and toss onto road. Clean plants off graves. Acquire consecrated grave dirt after hour and a half. Need rosemary and ashen bark (which we get from charring bark from an ash tree).

 Tom performs the special Kitsune rite. Create 6 vials of drinkable tincture.

 Everyone else drinks.

 Jimmy doesn't take 1 point of damage from the toxic properties due to his tendency to drink moonshine, i.e. bone gnawer. Everyone heals the damage. Got extra vial. Jenny hacking as we arrive.

 They see dead people.

 Jenny 'she is as mean looking as you claim'.

 Jimmy, Jenny, and Sean with Airt Perception see a haunted castle on path. Don't see kids nor teenagers. Resemble Wicked Witch of West. Skin rotting away. She is holding a book with a cross on it. All 3 of them notices a cross switches direction. Skin darkens grows purple when spin downward. A lightning storm causes flips. Jimmy relays what they saw within the Umbra.

Sean the Get 'I want to take on the guy with the big knife!' Upon hearing Silent Hill references.

 Jenny 'we need to stop her'. But then realizes the ghost children are the problem.

 Tom guesses words phonetically and enters into Google translate. Italian. Eureka we deduce they are Italian immigrants.

The translation  is 'What a bunch of idiots maybe we should kill them,

Tom 'uh oh,'

Translation 'and consume their souls'

 Tom's face grows pale.

  Jimmy Google 'fire kills ghosts'

We realize we must destroy their  bones!

 Jimmy 'should we scout around and see if any graves around?'

Tom digs where lone boy whose acting less than others are. With jenny's aid, dig a foot. The boy retaliates by draining a willpower from Tom. A white energy goes to him and become more solid. Jenny shifts into crinos to defend tom. Jimmy succeeds in using his gift activate major owl spirit. Gracie uses cane to hurl sorcerous fire at the ghost boy, burning the ghost. Sean and brad stand there. Brad tug of wyld to speak with owl spirit. Tom back away from hole while google translate a phrase in Italian. Boy moved toward Tom. The ghost boy repeats his attack on and Tom fails.

Our rage increases.

Jenny 'hey!' Withering Gaze boy. Jimmy commands the owl spirit 'go find the bones for the kid'. Pecks at spot Tom was digging. Moves by boy and owl spirit next to hole. Gracie blasts to the ghost almost to the point of nothingness!

 Sean heads to gas station to get gas... no pumps. Shifts to Crinos. Tears it off. 6' down pool of gas.  Investigates for a siphon and finds a 10' hose and bucket.

 Brad shifts to crinos moves by hole and digs. 3' deep. Tom hops in and haplessly moves dirt.

Our rage increase...

Crinos Brad burn rage to dig faster hits rock. Digs a foot. Jimmy rage digs 6". Jenny hops in digging. Down a foot. Gracie fire blasts and dissipates the ghost. White orb returns to Tom regaining willpower. Jimmy digs and tells owl spirit to keep watch. Removes final 6". Covered in dust. Brad huffs puffs and blows dust away.  Blows dust away but slips and breaks one the bones in his left leg bone! Spurting blood all over. Sean brings gas bucket over to whole. Sighs. Tom sort dust and can't find the bones because of Brad's blood.

Our rage increases...

Jimmy asks Gracie to eat Brad's rage. Jenny searches for bones. Jimmy searches for, finds, and digs out the bone! Gracie eats Brad's rage with Calm the Heart. Consume 2 rage from Brad. Sean grabs bone from Jimmy, sets the bone inside bucket, and sets  ghost's bone ablaze.

Ghost boy doesn't return and those with Airt Perception notices the castle and storm gone. Kids smile and depart. Witch becomes normal. Book becomes bible.

Jimmy offers gnosis chiminage to the owl spirit.

The experienced pack discovers the Orphanage land is for sale. Jenny buys property intent to set up a pet therapy for troubled kids nonprofit.

I hope you find my tale to your liking and serve as a record of the deeds of this esteemed pack. Much thanks for I have much to learn from them.

*End tale and in-character.

I felt my first LARP session in a couple years was perfect Halloween tale even for Werewolf: The Apocalypse as it had all the trappings of an excellent ghost story. This time I decided to strip out the game mechanics although I might include them next time.

Halloween  is four days away!

Happy Gaming and next time!

Halloween 2019: OneBookShelf Jack O'Lanterns Freebies

As I alluded to on Wednesday, it's October.  Halloween blogging season. Unlike years past, no lofty promises this year. If I write a Halloween-themed post, cool. If not, oh well. We'll see how many I churn out. What better way to begin my Halloween blogging than listing my haul from OneBookShelf's (DriveThru RPG, DriveThru Comics, DriveThru Fiction, DM's Guild, Storyteller's Vault) Jack O'Lantern Scavenger Hunt where one on browses thru the site clicking on Halloween themed icons in order to score a freebie?

Note for first time blog visitors: I have taken advantage of OBS's Jack O'Lantern freebies for years now. I've racked up quite the haul, which I rarely if ever read or use. As such, no deep dives. I didn't search through every nook and cranny. Four or five items was my stopping point.  Also, only the icon and the order in which I discovered the freebie will be listed.

On with the listing.

DriveThru RPG -

Witch hat:  Castles & Crusades: Night of Spirits. I got to hand it to Troll Lord Games. When they go in on a promotion, they go all in. This Halloween themed module using the Castles & Crusades rules retails for around $8. Reading the boilerplate makes me want to read and possibly run it.

Jack o'lantern: 5E Halloween Mini Dungeon: Horror of Ochre Grove. A D&D 5E module that's apparently Halloween-themed...

2nd jack o lantern: SEERS & Roebuck Dust Buster of Holding - the fantasy equivalent of the old Sears & Roebuck catalogs, which in this instance features one particular item.

3rd jack o'lantern:  Doomtown Reloaded: Print & Play Demo - The description reads like a card game. I hate when they mix categories...

4th jack o'lantern:  Mothership Players Survival Guide - Did you like the Aliens movies with Xenomorphs and Sigourney Weaver? Well, this rpg emulates it!


DriveThru Comics

Witch hat: Kids on Bikes House On Polar Court

Ghost: Unstoppable Origins #1

Jack o'lantern:  God the Dyslexic Dog v1 (apparently I already own a copy...)

Candy: Death Vigil #1

2nd jack o lantern: vs Stranger Stuff Send in the Clowns Special Edition


DriveThru Fiction

Witch hat: Weird Fiction Megapack 25 Stories From Weird Tales. Can't go wrong with a collection of stories from the old Weird Tales magazine/pulp. The mag that brought us Conan!

Jack o' lantern: Outbreak Undead 2nd edition  Intro Manual. Another cross category offering...

2nd Jack o Lantern: Cabaret of the Grotesque

Ghost: Book of Apex vol 1 of Apex Magazine  (already have). I swear this given away every year...

3rd Jack o Lantern Achtung! Cthulhu Fiction The Trellborg Monstrosities. Like H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos? Well, here's Cthulhu Mythos stories set across the pond in the UK!


DMs Guild

Ghost: Songs of Aedragad

Jack o'lantern: Curse of the Gumdrop Ooze Revised and Expanded

2nd Ghost: Circle of the Feydark 5e

2nd Jack o Lantern: Dread Domain A Cleric Archetype

Since much of my D&D 5E gaming is Adventurers League, I am unlikely to use any of this. Sigh...


Storyteller's Vault

Bat - Death Vigil #1 (repeat of the DriveThru Comics freebie)

Jack o'lantern -  God Dyslexic Dog volume 1 repeat of the DriveThru Comics Freebie

I really dislike how neither of these pertain to White Wolf Intellectual Property. The DM's Guild freebies seemed to be all D&D-related at least.

Ghost: Bygone Bestiary. Want to use fantastic creatures such as dragons in your World of Darkness game? Well, now you can! I've owned a deadtree version since White Wolf's $6.66 sale. I've been meaning to acquire an ebook copy for years so I could part with my physical copy. Mission accomplished!

Bat - Legacy of Lies a  V20 Dark Ages Jumpstart. Vampire Dark Ages is one of my favorite WOD Vampire settings.

Overall, I'd say I was pleased with this year's offerings.

Next time.

A Beginner's View of Fury of Dracula and Secret Hitler Games

Had the opportunity to participate in a board game/party game session with a Halloween flavor today. Only had the chance to play two games, Fury of Dracula and Secret Hitler. Never player either games before but I enjoyed them both. Since there's no time quite like your first, here's what I thought of them.

Fury of Dracula

Board games are hit and miss with me. They tend to have a steep learning curve. Often you're learning on the fly too. Repetition and observation are generally the keys to my grasping an individual board game. I found Fury of Dracula both an example of the prior sentence and relatively easy to grasp. Of the four participants, the two experienced players did the heavy lifting, ie one played two characters while the other took the role of Dracula facing off against the rest of the table. When I began, I had no clue what I was doing. By the end, I had a strong grasp of basic fundamentals and strategy.  After five turns,  I was struck by the unfolding narrative. Couldn't resist taking pictures and knew I just had to blog my experience.

A quick primer: Fury of Dracula involves two - five players where one side is comprised of four characters who opposed Dracula in Dracula (Mina, Van Helsing, Seward, and Lord Farnsworth - hadn't read Dracula in ages so I was confused who this was) face an opposing player who controls Dracula. Gameplay consists of the players accumulating resources and traveling Europe looking for clues towards Dracula's whereabouts so they may destroy him. Each turn has a day/night segment. When a week passes, despair becomes stronger. Furthermore, when Dracula's activities clear off the board or when an agent/he defeats one of the characters his influence total grows. Should Dracula reach 14 influence (think that was the exact number), the game ends. Dracula wins. The other players must destroy Dracula to win the game (or force is life total to 0...?)

 I controlled Dr Seward, which helped me learn the game as not only did he recover from damage easier but he could possess more resources.

The Rule Book





Took this shot when we were about five turns in. Dracula had just taken to sea; and our characters were scattered about Europe.

We had deduced Dracula must've come ashore by this point and was still ashore as he was feeding. The group was checking out nearby seaports to narrow our deduction as towards his whereabouts.

Aha! Dracula has gone back out to sea. Meanwhile, Dr. Seward travels by sea to where we deduced he had made landfall. Fortunately for the good doctor, played by yours truly, he had the resources to easily dispense with the vampire laying in wait.

Five turns afterward including Dr Seward's triumph over the vampire, the rest of the group travels toward Northern Europe as they strongly suspect Dracula may have travelled to England. While Seward begins the trip back to mainland, Lord Farnsworth begins the trip over the English Channel.

Upon reaching London, Lord Farnsworth discovers Dracula in London. Van Helsing joins him and battle commences! While Dr Seward and Mina Harkness guard the nearest ports, Dracula is forced to flee as bat. However, Lord Farnsworth is badly injured in the process...

The fiend escapes out sea again - albeit weakening himself in the process. We start the process of deducing where he fled once more.

We spread our hunt outward. Against Doctor Seward's better judgement, he uses resources from an event card (there are event cards that aid Dracula and those that aid the hunters) to travel to South-western Europe. Van Helsing travels by sea through two different seas (the game subdivides the seas into several) and reaches the mainland. Meanwhile, the badly injured Lord Farnsworth investigates one of places in England where Dracula last was located. He encounters a vampire...

Alas, Lord Farnsworth was dispatched by the vampire! The vampire clears the board. He awakens in a hospital not too far from Dr Seward. Unfortunately, Farnsworth defeat boosts Dracula's influence significantly. Despite our best expenditure of resources, all Dracula needs to win is to hide. He does so.

Game over.

The game ran about two hours. A tense two hours as neither side was close to victory until about the end. However, when the end came, it was quick! Pretty confident a more experience group of gamers could play Fury of Dracula faster. Took us awhile to get a sense of what to do. Plus, those of us who played the hunters used a very conservative strategy.

Secret Hitler

A party game emulating Weimar Republic. The players are assigned roles. Many of them are assigned the role of liberal, while two are fascist - one of which is Hitler. Each turn the players vote to confirm the President's choice of Chancellor. If the vote fails, a different player becomes President. If the vote succeeds, the President takes three policy tokens, liberal or fascist, and selects two. The chancellor then selects the policy. Should there be five liberal policies, liberals win. When three fascist policies be selected, the President can attempt deducing who is Hitler and kill him. Another alternative is if Hitler becomes Chancellor both Hitler and the other fascist wins.

A quick and easy game. Had a lot of fun despite not being very good at it. During the course of two games, I never did figure out who was Hitler nor who was fascist when the end point was triggered.

Overall: both solid games. I'd have to play Fury of Dracula another time or two but right now it's solid 4 out of 5 stars. Could easily see giving it a five out of five. Because Secret Hitler is more of a party game and one I am not very good at, I give it a 3 out of 5 stars. Good for parties.

Happy Gaming!

Next time.



Review: Tobin's Spirit Guide and Halloween 2018 in Review

If you're reading this, it means the powerful spirit and deadly opponent of the Ghostbusters, Samhain, did not prevail and usher us into Eternal Halloween. Indeed, the second day of the Halloween duo/trio, All Saints' Day nears its end. As I've mentioned in years of Halloween blogging past, tomorrow marks the less celebrated All Soul's Day. However, I'm calling it a wrap as of tonight. Not saying there won't be reviews forthcoming. They'll just be scattered throughout the course of the year. No sense engaging in an Eternal Blogging Halloween, right?

You may be wondering how I plan to approach this All Saints' Day blogging? Ready to read the exciting preamble outlining how I will proceed? Er, no. You can read the title...

Fine.

Yep. I'll actually be blogging in the reverse of the title of this post by looking at the month of 2018 blogging and then reviewing Tobin's Spirit Guide.

Scroll down to the review if a rehash isn't your cup of tea.

First, I started the month by highlighting elsewhere in the Blogsphere that another blogger had adapted the Headless Horseman for the setting of Blackmoor (created by D&D co-creator Dave Arneson) using Savage World game rules on Dave Arneson Game Day. At the time, I stated I would endeavor to convert the Horseman of the North to D&D 5E stats. I admit I don't always (often) follow through with my blogging promises. However, this time I did. If you missed the entry cause you were busy celebrating Halloween or couldn't keep up with several days of Halloween blogging you can find the conversion here.

My second Halloween blog entry was my compilation of past Halloween blogging. Here is the compilation for your convenience. It was my second annual compilation. Like to think tonight is my getting ahead of next year's...

Then, there was OneBookShelf's Halloween Treat Scavenger Hunt. Unexpectedly, blogged twice about it. Here is the first and second posts. With a whopping fifteen treats from five sites, I really do hope to review them before next Halloween. That is if I am not like Charlie Brown kicking the football that is...

Fourth, it wouldn't be Halloween unless I provided a bunch of spooky links. This time I brushed off my neglected Official D&D 5E Rulings By Tweet blog "column" to provide some with a more Halloween flavor. Here it is.

My fifth was a textual capstone of the Halloween Sunday Comic Strips that graced newspapers and online the Sunday before Halloween. Just realized, I never did the same on Halloween...

Yeah, I am lumping together similar entries and treating them as one... No point treating posts with the same concept separately.

Sixth post is more of a stretch as far as Halloween blogging goes. I just felt the session ended with a very Halloween-like flavor.

Last, my Halloween post where I basically write about how the cartoon the Real Ghostbusters exposed me to the Celtic/Gaelic holiday of Samhain and is the inspiration of much of my Halloween blogging the last several years.

Also, I did mention I finished reading a book too. Meaning it is time for....

My Review of....

Tobin's Spirit Guide!



Front cover



Back Cover:

The book is written by Erik Burnham (a writer for IDW Ghostbusters comics) in the guise of Dr Egon Spengler and Dr Ray Stanz.

Illustrations were drawn by another IDW Ghostbusters comic alum: Kyle Hotz.

Here's a sample illustration of the villain Samhain. Really, the central character to yesterday's Halloween post. Honestly, He looks better here than in the show. More menacing.



Anyway, the book is written as abridged version of the actual Tobin's Spirit Guide, which includes anecdotes of the Ghostbusters experiences as well as a Rogues Gallery of the baddest of the bad.

Tobin's Spirit Guide collects many of the ghosts and incredibly nasty beings the Ghostbusters have fought in the movies, comic books, video games, and animated series. A tall order considering the comics occur in a separate continuity from the Real Ghostbusters. Furthermore, each media has its own unique tone.

Burnham and Hotz tackle the differences by creating a unifying continuity that modifies some entries and encounters from how they were originally presented.

For instance, Slimer was a companion of the Ghostbusters in the Real Ghostbusters. Heck, ABC practically made Slimer the main character when they relaunced the series as Slimer and the Real Ghostbusters from the third (really, the second but the true second season was syndicated) season. There were Slimer shorts focusing exclusively on Slimer!

Not so here. Slimer is trapped within his own containment unit.

Samhain? There is no reference towards his aversion to light. Spoilers basically how Samhain was defeated in When Halloween Was Forever involved light. Lots of light. In Tobin's Spirit Guide, nope. Attrition weakens him.

Another change I noticed was in regards to Stay Puft Marshmellow Man. Fondly recall watching as a child on the Real Ghostbusters Stay Puft's face turn as he became a good guy who would occasionally help out. Stay Puft always ended each story back inside the containment unit. But he's Gozer... Kid me never made that connection. Suffice it say the book nixes this. Stay Puft isn't a good guy. Not a one shot either.

Quite certain they made other changes; but I haven't watched the Real Ghostbusters in decade or two. So I couldn't point them out. Nor have I read every comic (IDW and otherwise) nor played the video games. Any changes to those ghosts and big bad supernatural entities I couldn't tell you.

However, the listing is pretty extensive. The nostalgia factor is high. Marked about big time seeing the ghosts from the movies and reading about each ghost was expanded beyond their 30-second appearance.

 Like me, if you are closer to your forties than childhood, it's great reading narrative vignettes aimed at a more mature reader. Would love to see this creative team tackle some of these ghosts and major supernatural baddies within the comic. In other words, I would buy the comic more if the older rogues gallery made appearances.

The art is excellent too.

Overall: If you're a fan of Ghostbusters in all the different forms, if you've ever wanted to read the Tobin's Spirit Guide, if you want a good Ghostbusters read involving the old crew, I highly recommend tracking down this book. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

See you both next time as well as next Halloween season.



Halloween 2018: How the Real Ghostbusters Taught Me About Samhain

Today's the day. Okay, tonight's the night as the day's almost over. Halloween, to be precise.


Honestly, I didn't do much of anything Halloween. Wore a Ghostbusters shirt. Finished the Ghostbusters tie-in book, Tobin's Spirit Guide. Review is forthcoming for another day. Instead I want to focus more on what tonight's entry is really about...


If not for the 80's cartoon the Real Ghostbusters, I haven't the foggiest idea when I would've learned about Samhain. I was a young whipper-snapper when Episode 1 x 08 When Halloween Was Forever aired on ABC. To me, Halloween was costumes, candy, and spooky monsters. Watching the episode was apocalyptic.


I learned there was much more to Halloween than I thought. My childhood eyes were opened to the notion that the practice was rooted in a much more ancient practice called Samhain. Without the episode an question, Halloween wouldn't receive much attention on this blog. Definitely wouldn't care about the practices, customs, and superstitions of other cultures. Hence, all the different articles I link to.  Heck, I certainly wouldn't have spent hours watching stuff on YouTube in preparation for this post. For instance, as an American I take pumpkins for granted. They make carving jack o' lanterns easy. Early practitioners of Samhain had to carve turnips!


Which I learned watching this video:

Familiar Faces: Samhain



What? Learned that from a video about a Real Ghostbusters video? Yep. The main villain in question called himself Samhain. He had a pumpkin for a head. Considering he was freed from an Irish relic, there's a bit of a continuity problem since pumpkins are an American thing. Who says 80's cartoons didn't have educational value?


Because the villain Samhain opening my eyes to the wider and ancient nature of Halloween, he was easily my favorite. When he returned the next year during the third season (it's complicated...), I was hooked. Pretty much became a fan of the show throughout its remainder as Slimer and the Real Ghostbusters marking out at slightest easter egg and anticipating when the villain would next appear. Not to mention spending hours watching anything Ghostbusters-related the last several days... ahem...


Granted none of this renewed furor would've been awakened but for two things. One, reading Tobin's Spirit Guide. Two, discovering episodes of Real Ghostbusters are available on the Internet Archive including When Halloween Was Forever. Well, until someone suit complains and the videos are pulled...


However, until they pull them, why not watch When Halloween Was Forever and pretend Halloween 2018 will last just a little bit longer? So I am going to include the video from the Internet Archive here. My first attempt at embedding from Internet Archive so here goes nothing...


Nothing it is. Video would playback in draft form but fails in published form. So I am just going to try providing a link instead. On Internet Archive, here's Real Ghostbusters Episode 1x08 When Halloween Was Forever. That'll take you to all the files. Click on Parent Directory and you'll be taken to the video itself. Couldn't figure how to link to the video itself...








Now you too can experience how I learned about Samhain for the first time, while enjoying the 80's classic of the Real Ghostbusters!


Happy Halloween!


Next time.

Halloween '18: An Unexpectedly Howling 5 Takeaways D&D 5E AL 10/30/18

If I waltzed into my FLGCS to discover, Shadowrun was cancelled the sole Halloween connection would've been feeling akin to a trick. Except I knew more than a week in advance I'd be playing D&D 5E. I had also made known in advance to the table musterer (the person who organizes the tables at organized play events provided the players don't do so themselves) I would love to play the first module in Season 8, DDAL08-01. What I didn't expect was anything remotely resembling Halloween within the module. Since I've lumped a costume party into a Halloween-type module, an event that did occur for us definitely qualifies. Normally, I don't mention the module's name in my five take-aways but I make an exception here because of the impact.






Spoilers past the first three take-aways if you haven't played DDAL08-01 and don't wish to be spoiled:






Five Take-Aways:


Never really  though a D&D PC could mimic the Iron Man villain Whiplash until now - Ignoring the armor suit wearing Whiplash in the Iron Man two, Whiplash is a Marvel Comics villain who dual-wields two whips. Never in my wildest imagination have I EVER conceived of a PC who dual-wields two whips in D&D 5E. Heck, ANY edition for that matter. Tonight, I witnessed a Human Fighter PC with the Dual Wielder crack two whips in combat. The character was surprisingly effective too. As it's only Tier 1 (levels 1 - 4), I don't know how effective the PC performance in upper tiers will be. In Tier 1, the PC was a badass. Plus, the puns about flogging took on a whole level in conjunction with Waterdeep's punishment for some crimes.


Fey Presence is an excellent situational power - While I've played D&D 5E situationally for a number of years now, my gaming has been situational and inconsistent. If anyone's used Fey Presence, I've forgotten it, the power was used in a way none of my PCs benefitted, or the power failed. That being said, one of the PC concepts on my bucket list is a character with a strong connection to the fey, which includes a warlock with the archfey patron. During one of the combats tonight, Fey Presence was used successfully to maximum effect where the entire party derived benefit. No longer do I view the Warlock power in the abstract; and I have an idea how to use it.






SPOILERS for DDAL 08-01 Await


My Ninja Tortle Had the Potential to travel in sewers for the first time - It's no secret my tortle monk is inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While it feels like a waste at Tier 2, mimicking knowledge of the sewers with the Dungeon Delver feat is a concept feat too good to pass up. Heck, I almost took it at fourth level! However, sewers travel never came up during the entire time I've played my tortle. Either that or I forgot... Regardless, I've never had the chance to view travel via sewers as a regular thing. Until now. We almost went into the sewers. Joked about doing so. Didn't. Not sure if it was the right decision. Suppose I could've placed this above the spoiler section but then I would've been stating the module is set within an urban environment.




Loved the sandbox feeling of the module - Sandbox gaming and Adventurers League are not two things that normally go together. I loved how the table pretty much got to decide how it would address the flow of the module. Depending on table make up, how the players play, and DM fiat, the module will change. Heck one encounter played out completely different from how a player experienced it his previous TWO times.




Halloween Spoilers


Ambience and monster type can make the difference whether a module has horror elements - We had a wise-cracking, pun-flying table. Any attempt to amplify the horror moments would have fallen flat. However, a more serious table or a table willing to let itself be spooked would find the encounter fitting for Halloween season. D&D simply isn't a horror RPG. There is non-mainstream horror mechanic that either forces your PC to flee or freeze up with terror. Entering a room filled with extremely morbid art depicting bloodstains, death, and a cemetery is a page right out of a horror RPG. Provoking the shopkeeper/artist to attack you in a fit of rage while transforming into a werewolf in the process in such a place is as Halloween as you can get. The party wasn't  heavy magic nor armed with magical/silver weapons! With the right group, the mundane becomes the horrific. A day away from Halloween and the connection is right in your face.


There you have it my unexpected Halloween-related Five Take-Aways.


Halloween is tomorrow.


Later.

Halloween '18: Horseman of the North Converted to D&D 5E Stats

On Dave Arneson Game Day (and first Halloween post of 2018), I stated I would convert a fellow blogger's creation the Horseman of the Northern Downs in Blackmoor to D&D 5E stats. My caveat was I would convert once I understood Savage Worlds more. Eh? Just making it more complicated than it should. Instead, I'll use the Savage World stats as inspiration and go from there.


The Monster Manual is full of different kinds of monsters. Instead of creating the Horseman of the North from scratch, modifying an existing monster is the order of the day.


Paging through the Monster Manual, the Revenant catches my eye. Conceptually, the revenant matches the Horseman nicely. Like the revenant, I conceive of the Horseman as CR 5 foe. A tough foe for Tier 1 (levels 1 - 4 ) party; but Tier 2 and beyond shouldn't troubled by the Horseman too much. After all, the Horseman is inspired by the Headless Horseman from Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod Crane is no match one on one with a CR 5 foe as it should be.


However, the revenant doesn't fully emulate what's presented within Savage Worlds stats of the Horseman of the Northern Downs of Blackmoor. Ergo, a modifying I will go. Note: I am not going to sweat adjusting the final CR as this'll be more sausage-making than a fine-tuned conversion.


First, pretty clear the Horseman is a rider created out of the ether. Both rider and mount are the same creature. For simplicity, the mount will only enhance the speed, while providing a charge action with the lance. A centaur's speed and charge ability are perfect fit.


Leading to the second change, no Multi-attack. Damage output decreases substantially from the standard revenant as most of the damage will come from a lance charge. I'm only picturing one attack during a round with the saber. Since there's no stats for sabers in D&D 5E, scimitars match my idea of a saber. Horseman of the North may be a bit week for a CR 5; but it balances out the upcoming change to a standard revenant...


Third, Revenants aren't immune to non-silvered or non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing weapons. According to the DMG, modifying a CR 5 creature in such a way practically doubles the CR. Since the Horseman attacks those travelling the Northern Downs, the damage immunity doesn't trouble as much as a dungeon encounter would. In my mind, this is a solo encounter meant to induce terror. If the party can't deal with the damage immunity, then they should take advantage of the terrain at night to flee.


Leading me to the fourth change from a standard revenant. Conceptually, the Horseman of the North attacks random travelers because it doesn't know whom the object of its hatred is. Whatever vengeance it seeks to enact is blind. Therefore, the Horseman can't declare vengeance against anything. So it's attacks aren't augmented in anyway. Now, the Savage Worlds stats doesn't possess a Vengeful Glare trait from what I can ascertain. However, I like my headless horseman intimidating its quarry holding up a jack o' lantern. Think, I'll keep the frightening effect from the glare by having the Horseman tossing a jack o' lantern at the chosen quarry and using some of the mechanics to emulate the fright inducing effect.


The fifth change is the Savage Worlds Horseman wears chain. I'll just say the Horseman of the North 5E wears a chain shirt increasing the AC to 15.


And with that I give you the (Headless) Horseman of the North D&D 5E:


AC: 15, HP: 136, Speed 50 ft


Str & Con 18, Dex 14, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 18


Saving throws: Str +7, Con +7, Wis +6, Cha +7


Damage Resistances: necrotic, psychic


Damage Immunities: posion, non-silvered or non-magical slashing, bludgeoning, and piercing weapon attacks.


Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned


Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive perception 13


languages: understands but doesn't speak Common, Elvish. (I'm picturing a silent monster except for maniacal laughter)


Charge - see Centaur in Monster Manual.


Regeneration, Rejuvenation, Turn Immunity - See Revenant in Monster Manual


Actions:


Attack: +7 to hit with lance 1d12+4 piercing or +7 to hit with scimitar for 1d6+4 slashing. I'm old school and prefer rolling for damage.


Frightful Glare: The Horseman of the North hurls a flaming jack o' lantern at its chosen victim. Wisdom save (15) or be frightened of the Horseman of the North for 1 minute. At the end of each its turns, the frightened target can repeat the saving throw to end the frightened condition. Disadvantage is imposed if the target sees the Horseman of the North.


CR: 5


Ah, my very first D&D 5E monster I converted from another game system. Once again, I would like to thank the blog, The Gnomish Embassy, for inspiring today's blog entry.


Shucks, Halloween is only a couple days away now.


Happy Gaming and next time!

Halloween 2018 Sunday Funnies (Comic Strips)

Halloween is Wednesday. Sunday is waning away. Occasionally, I love reading the Sunday Funnies, the comic strip available within the Sunday newspapers, Comics Kingdom, and Go Comics. Haven't blogged about them in awhile. As Halloween is roughly three days away, why not blog about Halloween-oriented Sunday Funnies?


Ideally, I would have done this sooner. However, I was both distracted NFL football and the cloudy weather. For some strange reason, sun peaking through the clouds or blue skies are a prerequisite to my devouring the comics page on a Sunday. Reading them at night, just feels off. Yes, I am going to live blog my thoughts on each strip!


Once again, only the Halloween-themed strips will be mentioned. While I read strips like Prince Valiant, they won't be reference if there's no Halloween connection.


Note: if my blogging perks your interest in a given strip, many are available to be read online for limited time.


Let's begin.


Comics Kingdom


Sadly, none of the strips I follow, ie delivered by email, had a Halloween connection.




Go Comics


Frank and Earnest - A cheeky gag referencing retail stores tendency to erect displays for holidays months in advance as Ernie is trying on Christmas and Valentine's Day costumes on the same day as the Halloween party.


Cul de Sac - Despite warning from her brother, Alice accidentally loses all her Halloween candy when her dad surprises her. Pretty funny although the last panel felt flat for me. It's like 'oh look I received all the candy you hate!'


For Better and For Worse (note: the strip is also available via my local newspaper. For days when I don't read it, I follow FBFW on Go Comics) - Elizabeth is sewn a dinosaur costume by her mother. Punch line revolves around how quick the costume is fashioned versus how quick mending work is done.


Last Kiss - The one panel strip grew on me when I used to read the defunct Comics Buyer's Guide. This one is a tad adult-oriented as the non-costumed woman says to the guy dressed as a devil she's going as a nymphomaniac. I laughed.


Gasoline Alley - Slim volunteers at a haunted house dressed as skeleton. There's a very technical albeit out of the box description of a skeleton. Liked this one for the Halloween costuming visuals. Didn't flow too well. Would've been more effective during the old days when strips would receive more space on the Sunday page as it felt... choppy. Couple readings are required before understanding the scene transfers spooky to kooky.


Heathcliff - The strip depicts Heathcliff and an assortment of Halloween monsters (Frankenstein, Mummies, Ghosts, Witches, a vampire, a werewolf, and a skeleton) putting on a musical performance. Some spooky fun.




Sunday Newspaper


Zits - Nice play on Frankenstein before the strip's joke about Jeremy not being familiar with the song, 'Monster Mash' in addition to doing household chores.


Blondie - A real good strip where the possibility of kids trick or treating using drones is explored. Rarely do I find modern day Blondie strips funny but I chuckled here.


Hi & Lois - Bored Chip decides to do a trick while the family is pumpkin picking and pretends to be the Headless Horseman. I cracked grin.


Sally Forth - A multiple universe gag. Overall, it is neat the Sally Forth strip acknowledges since the Sunday strip happens on a day other than Halloween, the strip is chronologically set before Halloween.


Wizard of Id - The Wizard recruits a Giant Spider to create some Halloween décor to his wife's chagrin. If I read this during a sunny morning I would have guffawed.


Pickles - A joke about eating all the Halloween candy before the trick or treaters arrive. Okay, maybe I should have included spoilers for this one...


Peanuts Featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown - If I read the small print correctly, the strip was originally printed in 1971. Linus and a shade-wearing Snoopy sit in the pumpkin patch awaiting the Great Pumpkin. Linus wonders why Snoopy is wearing sunglasses at night. Snoopy infers it's a disguise. Pretty funny.


Rose is Rose - Kids go through process of carving a Jack O'lantern, which some chipmunks carry away. Cute little story.


Foxtrot - Drats! I forgot the geeky kid's name. Well, anyway... He announces to his sister that he's taking his lizard, Quincy, trick or treating as themselves. She remarks about the lack of imagination. Final panel depict Quincy going as the kid and kid going as Quincy. Talk about an inventive take on the 'going as yourself' costume.




There you have it. A quick rundown on today's Halloween-themed Sunday Comic Strips along with my thoughts on them as I read them just now.


Already said Halloween is three days away so... Next time.

Halloween '18 Edition of Official D&D 5E Rulings By Tweet

Months have passed since I last compiled official rulings on D&D 5E rules via Crawford's Twitter. Lack of rulings hasn't been an issue. I just haven't blogged about them. Instead of random rulings, I plan on lumping them according to a theme. Since Halloween is days away, the theme for the latest installment is Halloween.


Anyone who's glanced at Appendix N knows the works of H.P. Lovecraft inspired Gygax. As did the works of A. Merritt. Horror is an entrenched element of D&D. What separates D&D from those sources of inspiration is the protagonist have a chance, eventually, maybe, to defeat the horrors. The downside is some of those horrors... become mundane... as a result. Another thing is Dungeons & Dragons has evolved to the point where PCs could become the source of the horror as well, ie Necromancer & Warlock.


As such, I ignored anything from a PC perspective. If the ruling pertains to warlocks or necromantic powers, not included here. Furthermore, as much as I like Lovecraft, his influences aren't used along their original horror roots. Ergo, only mainstream Halloween monsters will be referenced here. Like vampires, werewolves, zombies, and the like.


So here ya go:


Levels don't influence stats of Animated Dead - The dreaded Necromancer casts Animate Dead on the corpses of a level 0 peasant and a level 20 fighter? They both rise and use the stats of a normal zombie. So no worrying over the 20 hit die zombie!


Vampire bite is unlikely to tranform during combat - Here's clarification stating hit point max must be reduced to zero before transformation occurs. Combat must really be proceeding poorly in an unorthodox manner for the victim here...


Reincarnate can't be used on undead - You encounter an undead creature. Hey, wouldn't it be cool if I cast Reincarnate on the undead creature? What will it come back as? DM: Spell fails. Undeath changes creature type. Depending on how other bring-back-from-the-dead spells work, this ruling may nullify them as well.

What if you really want to bring a zombie back to life? True Resurrection is the solution. Normally, I am used to Crawford referencing the books themselves. This particular answer is found within the errata.


Is tracking a vampire in mistform to its lair and staking it the only way of dispatching it once it becomes mist? - Many times Crawford will say 'read the text' but by using jargon.


What comes first? The vampire's bite or the grapple? - No, a vampire doesn't automatically hit if their grappling their target. However, the bite comes after the grapple.


What happens to Vampire Spawn when the Master is Destroyed - We destroyed the Master Vampire? All the Vampire Spawn go poof, right? No. They become free-willed, full-fledged vampires now. An instance where targeting the Big Bad right away may not be the best strategy...


Dead and Undead Attuning Items - Dead is a condition. Undeath is a creature type. So yeah, the vampire can attune magic items.


There ends the Halloween edition of Official D&D 5E Rulings By Tweet.


Happy Gaming and Halloween is four days away!

Halloween '18: OneBookShelf Expands Halloween PDF Treats

If you told me my next Halloween 2018 blog entry after my annual OneBookShelf Halloween Treats entry was a follow up, I wouldn't have believed them. Believe I had other blog entry topics in mind but I did whatever George R.R. Martin does while writing the next A Song of Ice and Fire novel and NOT blog. However, I said if I discovered anymore PDF Halloween Treats available on OneBookShelf site I'd blog about it. True to my word, there are new treats.


I just thought they'd recently discovered hidden gems. Instead, OBS expanded them to two more sites. They are Storytellers Vault and DM's Guild. Both links conveniently direct one to both the Halloween sale (31% off select PDFs) and the icon containing the Halloween treat.


Storyteller's Vault


Bat: New Blood - a scenario for Dark Ages Vampire (World of Darkness) where a Tremere and an alchemist have created alchemical blood...


Jack O'Lantern - Beckett's Vampire Folio 1: Carne's Rebellion for Vampire: The Masquerade


2nd Jack O' Lantern:  Same as the 1st...


3rd Jak O' Lantern: Demon Translation Guide - How to convert the Demons from Demon the Fallen to Demon the Descent (Chronicles of Darkness)


Going to assume only three treats are available.


DM's Guild


Ghost: Seasonal Surprises vol 1 - How to create a Halloween themed adventure for D&D 5E


Jack O' Lantern: Monsters of Horror (which one can acquire from a different site as well).


2nd Jack O' Lantern - A Night of Masks and Monsters (A Requiem of Wings #1) - 5E adventure for Characters level 3 of table of 3 - 6 PCs.


3rd Jack O' Lantern: Heroes of Mists - Expanding Curse of Strahd to fit the setting of Ravenloft more (for D&D 5E)


Surprised there were 4 treats here! Provided you didn't check out the other sites that is.  I'm assuming this will be all goodies though.


Halloween is 6 days away!


Next time.

Halloween '18: Tricks and Treats OneBookShelf-Style

Let's see. It's mid-October? Check. Check OneBookShelf sites DriveThru RPG, DriveThru Comics, and DriveThru Fiction to see whether they've commenced both the Halloween sale and the Halloween Icon Trick or Treat offerings? Heck, yes! Check. Way back in what seems like ages pass, the Drive Thru sites began a Jack O' Lantern search where you'd embark on scavenger hunt throughout an individual site for jack o' lantern icon. If you clicked on the link, you be rewarded with a treat (ex. a free e-book) or a trick (a gag). In recent years they've expanded the icon type beyond jack o'lantern to other Halloween icons. Think of it is a trick or treating OneBookShelf style!


I've participated on and off for YEARS. One major reason why I've accumulated quite the collection of e-books at OBS is due to the Trick or Treat event. This year, I am going to blog about each find per icon per site. Breaking from tradition of years past, I provided a link to the three sites in question in case any reader seeks a treat or trick. You'll have to create an account if you haven't done so already. Note: The event should last a week or two. Don't recall if they cancel it on Halloween or week before. It just started so it should last several days. I'm betting it'll last as long as Halloween sale does but don't quote me...




For those who prefer surprise thereby SPOILERS below.






Drive Thru RPG:


Witch Hat: Fear Can't Hurt You. A Halloween scenario.


Jack O'lantern: Monsters and Other Childish Things: Curriculum of Conspiracy


2nd Jack O'lantern: Head Shot! Zombie Apocalypse Action Role-Playing Game






Drive Thru Comics:


Witch Hat:Children of the Night - Community Content = new monsters for Ravenloft


Jack O'Lantern: Adam 2.0 Black Swan #1 graphic novel


Candy: 'Til Undeath Do Us Part E-book




Drive Thru Fiction:


Witch Hat: Monsters of Horror - Community Content = 6 movie monsters adapted to D&D 5E


Jack O'Lantern: Sins of the Father RPG


Ghost: The Black Spot - a storytelling RPG (Side note: I've apparently acquired a copy previously. Guessing a previous Trick or Treat?! Probably should read it sometime then...)


Interesting observation: If you're logged into the other sites at the same time, those finds appear at full price in the carts of the other sites. May want to search through the other sites one at a time or be prepared to remove stuff from the shopping cart. Perhaps that's trick! If you have multiple storefronts open at once, you must remove stuff from the carts or get charged!


There may be more than three tricks or treats per Drive Thru site; they're scattered about in places I am not used to. A true scavenger hunt indeed if that is the case. However, three treats (I'm assuming such...) per Drive Thru is enough for me. I am content.


Halloween is twelve days away!

Halloween 2018: Blogging of Halloweens Past the Second

I am getting a jump on my Halloween blogging early this year. Maybe. Hopefully. Posting more than one or two posts before mid-month. Or thirteen days prior...


Last year, I compiled links to all my previous Halloween blogging along with a byline for entry. Make it easier for those that don't want to scroll down and click on the Halloween label. Time is money after all! Plus, clicking the label brings up EVERY Halloween labeled post so it's more convenient for the discriminating reader too. Since last year was the first, why not do a second?


I had the notion I would blog additional Halloween-related entries over the last year. Didn't quite happen. Funny, right?


We'll start with last year's compilation spanning entries from 2015 and 2016. I am NOT repeating the bylines here. C'mon... Think of it as Halloween scavenger hunt!


2017


D&D PC costume party - was my first original 2017 Halloween 2018 entry. Basically,  a game report (really should do more of those...) of when my Half-Orc Barbarian Grogg attended a costume party during Adventurers League module.


Three Halloween Links - Shared three links concerning unorthodox burial and funeral rites, Polish folklore of monsters,  and a Polish poem that inspired the Witcher.


Walking Dead Season 6 Marathon First Half - I marathoned season 6 of The Walking Dead on Netflix about half way. Here's what I thought of each episode. Should probably finish the season this year...


2017 OneBookShelf Halloween Jack O'Lantern Tricks and Treats Haul - 'Nuff said. Other than the tricks, I haven't read any of the free PDFs yet...


2017 Sunday Comics Page Thoughts - Aha! Something I did read! My two cents on the Halloween-themed Sunday Comic Strips in the Sunday Paper.


Shadowrun Missions Module that best fit a Halloween theme - A game report of a Shadowrun Missions module I felt could serve as perfect fit for Halloween night.


Halloween Night - My entry on All Hallows' Eve. A potpourri. Check it out... if you dare!!!


Technically, my post on October 1st combining Dave Arneson Game Day and Halloween counts as previous Halloween-related post as it precedes this compilation. So if you haven't read it yet, here it is for your convenience. Still haven't converted the Horsemen of the North to 5E yet...


Halloween is roughly 25 days away!


Next time.

Blog Spotlight: Never Say You Can't Combine Halloween with Dave Arneson Game Day

October 1st marks two special occasion to this gamer and blogger. One, Halloween is roughly thirty-one days away. Long-time blog readers will note Halloween receives a great deal of notice here. I've also played Dungeons & Dragons for ages. As such, I thank the creators of D&D, and by extension the inspiration for the hobby of table-top role-playing games, for hours of enjoyment. However, the early days of RPGs was very rough-and-tumble and one of the co-creators, Dave Arneson, didn't garner the attention and praise as much as he should. To rectify that, fans such as those at The Comeback Inn have declared October 1st, Dave Arneson's birthday as Dave Arneson Game Day. They have an event page too!


Who is Dave Arneson? Writer James Maliszewski  (his blog Grognardia is linked too within the blog roll to your left) wrote a quick primer on Arneson for Goodman Games (publishers of Dungeon Crawl Classics among other game lines). The Comeback Inn forums reproduces said piece here. Among Arneson's creations was the setting of Blackmoor. That's important for later...


I really wanted start October with a Halloween-related blog entry, while also blogging about Dave Arneson Game Day. A couple problems. First, Dave Arneson Game Day doesn't naturally lend itself to Halloween. Plus, I didn't really do much for it once again other than check out a couple links.


However, among those links was a blog entry from the blog, The Gnomish Embassy, which did in fact combine Halloween and Arneson's setting of Blackmoor. As such, it's time for another installment of Blog Spotlight where a hype another blogger's stuff!


The combination in question is the Horseman of the North! Remember the story Sleepy Hollow and legend of Headless Horseman? Well, the Horseman of the North is that very concept imported into the setting of Blackmoor! Only downside for this D&D player is that the stats are for the game Savage Worlds. While I am familiar with Savage Worlds rules, I am not fluent in them. So I can't speak so much for the stats. However, I do love the story of the Horseman of the North so once I acquaint myself more with Savage Worlds a 5E conversion could be in order. Well, unless the creator converts Horseman of the North first...


Heck, I should probably check out The Gnomish Embassy blog more thoroughly too!


Happy Dave Arneson Game Day!


Halloween is in 31 Days!


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

Halloween 2017: All Hallows' Eve

Might as well cut to the chase:


Happy Halloween!


Must confess I didn't do too much Halloween-related today. Not trick-or-treating. Didn't eat any candy. Was going to read the DC House of Horror one-shot after watching tonight's episode of DC's Legends of Tomorrow set during Halloween but after fast-forwarding through the episode (yeah, I know shouldn't do that) I discovered next week's episode is set during the Victorian era and may feature vampires. So I figured I will watch that episode later.


As for the DC comic, I may read it tomorrow. Speaking of comics, while I didn't attend Halloween Comicfest, I did pick up some of the comics when I played Shadowrun Missions yesterday. They are: The Friendly Ghost Casper, Donald Duck's Halloween Scream, Shiver, Ghostbusters: Happy Halloween, and Hellboy and the BPRD 1953 The Witch Tree and Rawhead and Bloody Bones. With any luck, I'll be able to spend a huge chunk of Halloween day 2 (ie All Saints Day) reading comics!


What I did do was take advantage of One Book Shelf's Halloween sales and bundles. Discovered that the Barovia modules for Adventurers League (AL04) were cheaper via the bundle (@ 40% off) and thus the better option. While I was at it, I picked up the Mummy: the Curse (nWOD) bundle and a Monster comics bundle (has the Doctor Mirage trade from Valiant). Then I realized I could pick up the core book and all five supplements for Palladium Book's Dead Reign much cheaper than normal. For those unfamiliar with Dead Reign, it is Palladium Book's post-zombie apocalypse setting. While I already own a copy of the core book, I don't have easy access to it and watching The Walking Dead puts me in a zombie apocalypse mood. Don't know if I would ever run it though.


Then I check out some Halloween-related links:


The pumpkin genome has been sequenced.


Here's a quick history of pumpkins. Fun fact: Europeans had never seen them before coming to North America.


The pumpkin produces a compound that is a natural disinfectant!


I must confess I haven't seen the newest version of the movie IT. Here's how Stephen King's work such IT parallel the Cthhulhu Mythos.


Viking zombies and the means of dispatching them can be read about here.


Now, I think I am going to watch some Halloween movies!


Next time.

Halloween '17: The Most Halloween-like Shadowrun Mission Module I've Ever Played

Within a couple hours, my local FLCGS will host its once a month Shadowrun Missions event. Unlike last year, as mentioned in the 'was Halloween night trick-or-treat?' blog entry, I don't think tonight's event will be cancelled. As Halloween is tomorrow, here's a game write-up of the module that reflected Halloween the most. At least couple Shadowrun Missions would qualify...


The cast: Truce a human drone rigger. "Snuffles" - a dwarf decker with a fondness for Sesame Street. Umi - Elven Face Adept. Lastly, I played Nox Human Combat Mage.


Thereby Spoilers but I will avoid specifics as much as possible... I'll also switch from 1st to 3rd person quite a bit too.




Our quartet of shadowrunners were hired by a duo familiar to us whose identities will remain anonymous. We're professional like that chummer! Anyway, our job was to find a missing family or two. First, we had to investigate an office. Passkey provided.


So the office, which didn't have an astral barrier, was without power and thus no light. Nox learned the value of flashlights that day. Truce manages to jury-rig the electrical systems and power, lightning, and an electrical discharge zapping Truce comes on. Despite using the passkey, Snuffles still had to bypass the keypad. Footage is accessed displaying kids knocking out the guards with gas grenades. Umi the most perceptive of the runners doesn't pick up a minute clue. The quartet proceed to another office. Nox doesn't perceive any magical auras. Snuffles enters the host node within the Matrix and discovers one of the objects of our search was implanted with bleeding-edge tech! Umi and Truce with Snuffles decker-fu nab a couple of medkits. The runners leave the building with power on and lock up.


The next location is like a palace among the rundown vicinity of the Containment Zone. Upon smelling rotting flesh, gas masks are handed out. Nox scopes out the place by astrally projecting. Finds nothing in either the house or garden. Yet, when he checks out the shed he detects lumps within the ground are moving! Dreading astral combat, Nox beats it. Upon reaching the other runners, Nox informs them of what he finds. While they perform a Matrix search, Nox uses Cleansing metamagic and attempts to summon an Air Elemental Force 4. He gets 3 services.  The quartet then approach the house. Umi triggers a monofilament tripwire, which she edges to dodge. Snuffles proceeds to unlock the house when a shock nets falls on the hapless Snuffles and Umi. Nox manages to dodge the net. Nox sends his air elemental to scope out the shed. Learns that it was worms crawling over what may be dead bodies. As we enter the house, Snuffles enters the house node where a castle motif greets him. After much searching, Truce and Snuffles detect a secret room with a map of Chicago. Umi cooks stir fry and Nox locates another secret room where it's discovered that a boy is an object of a search... The runners leave discovering bike tracks by the shed, which is a chicken coup filled with dead chickens. Snuffles dons a hazmat suit and arranges for a dead chicken and their food/water to picked up by a contact for further analysis. Truce's drone notices female bikers going from house to house; and Truce contacts a female biker contact. Turns out its her group. Small world indeed chummers.


At a homeless shelter, a scene of death awaits. From there, Snuffles triangulates our next stop: a flower shop. As we arrive, it is sunset and the air elemental is freed. Nox astrally projects to discover there's an aura by the door and a mana barrier further in. Truce's drone enters. Upon the runners physically entering the flower shop, Nox has the bright idea to flick the switch from which the magical aura is fixated upon. Boom! Fireball. Nox's spell defense helps the group avoid must of the effects of the fireball. Then, the sprinkers turn on. Contact poison. Knock out gas to be precise. Snuffles wearing a hazmat suit is the only once conscious. Panicking he realizes the other three aren't dead. Drags our comatose bodies into the van and commands the drone to do the same.


When we wake, we buy hazmat suits, gas masks, and flashlights and return to the flower shop. Inside the office, we find a tunnel leading down. Nox with hazmat suit is too big to fit so he takes it off. After squeezing through a tunnel at the bottom, an overpowering stench hits us. No one loses their lunch. Then we enter a room which is pretty much a charnel house. Background Count of 4 aspected toward death! Pictures of human kids along with gore dots the walls. Then phasing out of the mist above us, two vampires appear and attack Nox and Umi! Nox is struck by a sword blow that reduces him to 1 box of physical! Umi uses her adept power of 'Too pretty' to dodge. Unfortunately for her the vampire on her connects with a sword a couple of times. Nox is fortunately missed. They are both saved by the burst fire from both Truce and Snuffles, which kills one vampire and injures another. Appearing outmatched, the lone vampire transforms into mist and escapes through the cracks! After gathering their bearings, the runners discover the remains of the dead kids among the bodies.


The SRM module was Season 06-01 10-57. It wasn't just the vampires that made me feel that this module was the most fitting for a Halloween blog entry. The creeping tension that culminated in a scene of horror, the fear of the unknown, and a feeling of imminent TPK secured the nod.


All Hallows' Eve is tomorrow.


Happy Gaming!


Next time,