Some Witches in the Grim North

 Just some ideas I had about witches while on the train today and yesterday. These will end up in the appropriate random encounter tables for the Grim North.

Random encounter? Oh, go on then

The Frost Witch
White gowned a pale skinned with blue hair lips and eyes. Has a wand that turns folk to ice. Can call a snowstorm and travel through it unhindered or quicker, also appears through the panes of mirrors or reflective surfaces such as ice. Casts charm person, sleep, cone of cold, wall of ice, that sort of thing. Servants are a malignant blue skinned dwarf armed with a whip, two black worgs and a fur clad ogre.

The Owl Witch

Wears a cloak of owl feathers. Can transform into a snowy, tawny, barn or giant owl dependent on the colours of her cloak. Casts owl related spells, wall of feathers, fly (sprouts wings), avian missile, etc. Servants are all owls, they whisper secrets in her ear.

The Night Witch

Hooded and cloaked in black. She carries a noose with her at all times. Blends into and travels through shadows. Noose can attack telekinetically. Has a black cat, may enlarge and fight as a panther. Uses stick figurines to enact sympathetic magic.

The Fen Witch

Bent and ugly. Her name is Daisy. Wears green and brown. Eats frogs and eels. Has a cauldron in which she can see the present but not the past or future. Carries a staff crafted from a crooked, lightning struck branch. Is served by an intelligent serpent that can spit venom, flocks of starlings and an old brown bear.

Things Encountered on the Road to Nox Aeterna

There are things in the woods. They hate you.

Things encountered on the road to Nox Aeterna (in note form):

Beastmen, Satyr, they might look like steroid using goat barbarians but they're flesh eaters and you look like a Sunday roast for the whole warherd.

The Teeth of Beoric, the Green Pearl of Vaxos, the Ivory and Iron Crown, the Skeleton Puppet, finding any of these things can only lead to grief and woe.

Peasants in trouble, faeries have stolen their wagon, an ogre has eaten their children, goblins have soured their milk cow or whatever.

Nothing, they get to the city without incident. Hahaha. As if.

A wizard hunter.

Flying things, pelgrane? Harpies? Dragon? Vores? Moths? Goblins riding moths? The actual Mothman?

Visions, a snow leopard that talks, the Horned Lord and his wolves, any of the other weird faerie-ish gods, a fat man towing a wagon on which sits a huge cauldron of porridge, a black dog with green eyes, a faerie cat, nine dead men hung from the branches of an ash tree.

Witch/witches, inhabiting abandoned huts, weaving or threading beads or sewing or being openly hostile, reading fortunes for silver.

A birchman, or colony thereof 4hd AC 5 (14) dmg 1d8, immune to blunt and piercing weapons, vulnerable to fire.

A rabbit hole, a rabbit hole is like a wormhole but a fantasy one. It leads to the otherworld or at least a pocket of it. It is small but everyone can fit in it.

A dead or wounded patrician.

A gold prospector. Guess what? He's mad. I did not see that coming...

A bridge. Not just an ordinary bridge. It depends on how you cross it. Or who built it. Or who lives under it. Or who disputes your right to pass over it. Or all of these things.

Games I would like to play but probably never will

Talislanta

Not just a multicoloured elf

Love the setting, love the fourth edition rules. The character archetypes give a real flavour for the world, the mechanics are simple and effective. Every single resource printed for the game, across all editions, is available online for free here.

No elves. That solves the all elf party conundrum.

No humans either, although there are a LOT of races. That makes it a bit unrelatable for total novices.

There's a new version in the works too. Hope it takes off.

WFRP

All Troll Slayer party anyone?

Everyone knows Warhammer. The grim, dark world descending into the inevitable grasp of Chaos and corruption. I have the second edition rules and the magic mechanics are so apt to the setting they may be the best ever. As much as I monkey around with things for my Swords and Wizardry game, I'd run this with tropes and cliches intact. Largely because they're done well and are therefore fun.

The setting is so richly developed with all the novels and so forth there is a lot of scope for different campaign styles, as long as you don't mind your characters retiring maimed, insane or mutated beyond all recognition. Or most likely all three.

GURPS

Roll 3d6 in order? No chance.

I just love the idea you can apply it to any setting. I totally hate the Herculean labour that is character creation though.

I'm just messing with myself by even thinking like this. I'm struggling with players for a regular game of Swords and Wizardry as it is.