We watched the newest Christmas movie, " Red One ," the other night. It is silly but fun. It had Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, and J. K. Simmons as Santa. But the surprise was Kiernan Shipka, as  Grýla, The Christmas Witch .  When she played Sabrina, Kiernan Shipka encountered Grýla before, so seeing her take on the mythological witch was fun. I have also encountered Grýla here before. And given that I already did Santa , I thought Grýla for NIGHT SHIFT would be fun, too. Thorsteinn1996, CC BY-SA 4.0 Grýla 8th level Witch Strength: 17 (+2) Agility: 13 (+1) Constitution: 16 (+2) S Intelligence: 14 (+1) Wits: 18 (+3) P Persona: 9 (+0)  HP: 51 Alignment: Dark AC: 2 Attack: +1 Fate Points: 1d8 Check Bonus (P/S/T): +4/+3/+1 Melee bonus: +2 Ranged bonus: +1 Saves: +4 against spells and magical effects Witch Abilities Arcana, Supernatural Senses, Spells, Arcane Powers, Arcane Powers Immunity to Cold, Charm Person, Shapeshifting Spells First Lev...

Believe it or not this year marks the 10th Anniversary of the publication of The Witch  and Eldritch Witchery will be 9 years old.  While The Witch is firmly planted in the garden of "Basic-era" games, Eldritch Witchery uses O.R.C.S. , the same system found in Spellcraft & Swordplay and something of a "little brother" to O.G.R.E.S. the system found in all of our NIGHT SHIFT games.   What does that mean to you?  Adding material from these two books to your NIGHT SHIFT game is not only easy, but it can also make for a great game. System Concerns Let's address the first issue. One of system compatibility.  This thankfully is not a difficult one.  All three books, regardless of their native systems are all derived from the same OGC sources and the same Old-School gameplay.  So many of the underlying assumptions are all the same, or at least close enough.  The NIGHT SHIFT Core has O.R.C.S. to O.G.R.E.S. conversion notes to make gameplay flui...

Derek Stoelting wrote the new starter adventure in the Quick Start Kit, Tainted Blood . Here he provides additional background material on one of the locations from the kit. We'll let him do the typing. . .  I wrote the starter adventure in Elf Lair Games's   Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars Adventure and Quick Start Kit . One of the locations in the scenario is the Mandragora Book Store. My original write-up on the Mandragora went far and above what was necessary for the scenario. So, I cut it down to just what was necessary for the scenario. After all, I didn't want to completely overwhelm someone new to the game.  This should give you a little more flavor for your games. You can read the original background after the photo and there's more information on the Adventure and Quick Start Kit after the gates. . .  Landscape Photography of Gray and Brown 2 Storey House 82936526   ©   creativecommonsstockphotos   |   Dreamstime.com...

Well, folks, we have officially fulfilled our first Kickstarter! Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars has completed shipping (save for a couple local hand deliveries and a few stragglers who haven't paid for shipping).  Our original target date for release was May. Due to a printer delay (that's the middle of their busy season) we actually released and started fulfilling around late June. I'm given to understand that completing fulfillment within 2 months of the target date may be a Kickstarter record!  Okay, that's a bit hyperbolic, but still. Given how many companies take 6 months, a year, even longer to fulfill, I'm pretty pleased that our first one was done that quickly. Doing it myself without the help of a fulfillment service was a challenge, but I only really had 3 hiccups where I overlooked increased pledges for extra books--those were corrected immediately by sending out the extra books.  Next step: complete the few books and works I have in devel...

Eldritch Witchery is my next book for role-playing Witches.  In this case the game is Spellcraft & Swordplay .  The book will include a Witch AND a Warlock class. And without further ado here is the new cover! Lilith by Isra2007 I was able to get this wonderful piece of art of Lilith from Isra2007. It will be updated in the Spellcraft & Swordplay trade dress, but nothing else will be done to the image.  It is too perfect as is. Like the Witch , Eldritch Witchery will have new spells, magic items and monsters.  It will have traditions, but all new ones , different from the Witch, so new Occult Powers too.   Warlocks also have Lodges they belong to.  The biggest addition is the inclusion of all the demons and devils to the Spellcraft & Swordplay game .  If you were around for my April A to Z posting then you have an idea what will be included. The book is done, more or less.  The first part with the witches, spells and magic...

It is no secret that I am a fan of the game Skylanders .  I even got caught up in all of the hype about collecting the figures and everything.  I am embarrassed (a little) to discuss the lengths I went too to get some of these figures.  There were other parents right there next to me, so I figured I was in good company. Well just when we all thought the madness was dying down, Activision is releasing the new Skylanders Giants this weekend.  New game, new figures, and your old figures can now go to level 15 (previously only 10).  Here we go again. I don’t think it is a stretch to  guess that my favorite character in the game is Hex , the dark elf witch of the “undead” element.  Early this year I stated her up for Dungeons & Dragons 4e and Pathfinder using their respective witch classes. Given there is a new Skylanders game AND my new books are on the way I thought I Would stat her up once again for The Witch and Eldritch Witchery . And ye...

Tascela, Princess of the Tecuhltli (City of Xuchotil) From "Red Nails" "She was tall and lithe, by far the most beautiful woman in the room. She was clad more scantily even than the others; for instead of a skirt she wore merely a broad strip of gilt-worked purple cloth fastened to the middle of her girdle which fell below her knees. Another strip at the back of her girdle completed that part of her costume, which she wore with a cynical indifference. Her breast-plates and the circlet about her temples were adorned with gems. In her eyes alone of all the dark-skinned people there lurked no brooding gleam of madness." - Red Nails , Robert E. Howard Tascela is an immortal witch from Robert E. Howard's "Red Nails", his last Conan story. She is so old she does not remember her youth though she knows she learned her magic from a Stygian priest.  For this reason I choose to make her a Witch and give her the Demonic Tradition.  Her familiar has died ...

Note: Here is a monster you can use with the upcoming Eldritch Witchery from Elf Lair Games. Impundulu The Impundulu, or Lightning Bird, is a type of vampiric servant used by evil witches. The bird is born when lightning strikes the ground.  To all others it appears as a lighting strike, but to the witch it has chosen it appears as a bird.  Once so chosen the bird will manifest to all as an Impundulu. The bird can also assume the form of an attractive man to lie with the witch each night. The Impundulu may also attempt to seduce other women, and feeds on them as a vampire, but it is not an undead creature, but rather one of the Calabim, or Demons of destruction. The Impundulu must charm his victim to gain access to her home and bed, once there he will drain 1-3 (1d6/2) points of Constitution in blood each night. After three nights he will cease his attacks.  The victim could well be close to dead at this point. Any victim lowered to 0 Con dies. V...

I am working hard on putting the final touches on my next two books.   The Witch and Eldritch Witchery . They are not quite ready for full on press releases or product announcements yet,  but I am very, very excited about them. The Witch "The Witch" is designed to be used with "Basic Era" games.  Games that were released in the late 70s and early 80s and whose legacy is being continued with games like  Labyrinth Lord and Basic Fantasy RPG . The Witch will feature a new character class, the witch, and witchcraft Traditions so you can play any type of witch from fantasy, pulp or faerie tale.  In addition there are going to be new monsters associated with the witch as well as tons of new spells and magic items.  Many of which I have playtested over the last 12 years and some even dating back to my original notes I had written on the witch back in 1985. Also included are appendices for extending the "Magic-User" class into a proper ...

TIM: Hey all, guest blooger Tim Brannan here.  I wanted to take some time and talk a bit about where I was in the upcoming Eldritch Witchery book for the Spellcraft & Swordplay game.  Not sure of a release date yet. I am returning to work on Eldritch Witchery , my guide to witches and warlocks for the Spellcraft & Swordplay RPG . The idea is simple really; make a witch class for the game. But I want to do this class justice and not just do a retread of the material I have written for other games. So I am going back to school. I have been rereading old Dragon and White Dwarf magazines from the 70s to the early 80s to get a proper feel for the game as it was then. What were people talking about and doing in their games. I have also been going over my basic assumptions. Why is a witch needed if we already have Clerics and Wizards? What niche does a witch fill in a Sword and Sorcerery game? For this I am indebted to Jason Vey who has been giving me a crash cou...