Review: The VVitch: A New England Folktale

Review

Last Saturday, my wife and I went to see The Witch (stylized as The VVitch and titled onscreen with the subtitle A New England Folktale). We went to the late night showing, which seemed appropriate given the subject matter. The film starts with the excommunication of a farmer, William, from a 17^th century Puritan plantation in New England. He leaves along with his family—wife Katherine, daughter Thomasin, son Caleb, and fraternal twins Mercy and Jonas—due to the crime of “prideful conceit.” He seems to have been doing his own interpreting and preaching of scripture in a way that the authorities disagreed with. As a result, the family is exiled. They settle on a piece of land by the edge of a large forest to start their new life. Several months later, they've built a house and farm and Katherine has given birth to her fifth child, Samuel. Then things go very wrong for the family.

I don’t want to give away the twists and turns of the film. It’s not that the film attempts an M. Night Shyamalan kind of surprise ending, but I think the feel of the film will be conveyed best if the ending is unknown and the events are allowed to unfold without foreknowledge. Not surprisingly in a film called, The Witch, there are elements of the supernatural. But the viewer is, to an extent, kept guessing as to what is really going on in the story. As events progress, things go wrong, fear and paranoia set in and this is all filtered through the viewpoint of 17^th century Puritans. The film does an excellent job of putting the audience into the mindset of the family. The protagonist is the eldest child, Thomasin, and we predominantly see the events of the film through her view point. The isolation of the family farm parallel’s Thomasin’s growing isolation from her family.

Costumes, architecture, and such seem accurate. The matchlock musket fits the 1630 nominal time period. Though sadly, the match is not used correctly. When we see the match carried by Caleb it appears unlit, at least no smoke seems to be rising from it and the end does not glow. Nor do we see Caleb or his father make any attempt to blow on the match to keep it lit. Only once the match is placed in the gunlock and fired does it finally seem to be lit. It’s a bit of a minor quibble, I suppose, but the Spanish film [i]Alatriste[/i] and the BBC TV series [i]The Musketeers[/i] both do a better job showing how matches worked and I was hoping to see that level of accuracy.

It was interesting to see how well off the family was in a material sense. Even the children all had shoes, their clothes were well made, and jackets had many buttons. Not being a historian, I can’t speak to how realistic that was for average Puritan colonists, but it does seem in keeping with what I know of the wealth and social class for Puritans in general in that period and with the lists of belongings I’ve seen from a few historical sources for the Puritan colonists.

If one is interested in the 17th century, especially if one is interested in Colonial America, Puritans, or contemporary views on witchcraft, this is a movie well worth seeing. It's also a compelling tale told from the point of view of a young Puritan girl who is not Hester Prynne. 

The Good:

• The film is historically accurate with the sort of clothing one sees in period recreationists and Colonial Williamsburg not cheap knock offs from a theatrical prop rack.
• The film does a fabulous job of conveying the world view and attitude of Colonial Puritans and depicting their view as real in the film.
• The acting is quite good.
• The film depicts the isolation of a single family and a lonely daughter in the period extremely well.

The Bad:

• The film never really answers the question of what was really going on. It is, as the subtitle says, A New England Folktale, and if you want more of an explanation for who did what, to whom, and how and why, you will be disappointed on that account.

Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Was Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia a werewolf hunter?

It appears that Two-Fisted Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia may also have been a werewolf hunter. I just saw this today:

When Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died 11 days ago at a West Texas ranch, he was among high-ranking members of an exclusive fraternity for hunters called the International Order of St. Hubertus, an Austrian society that dates back to the 1600s.

According to the Order's website, the International Order of Saint Hubertus was founded in 1695 by Count Franz Anton von Sporck in what was then the Kingdom of Bohemia, then territory of the Habsburg Empire, now the modern Czech Republic. Members of the male-only knightly order wear dark-green robes emblazoned with a large cross and the motto “Deum Diligite Animalia Diligentes,” which means “Honoring God by honoring His creatures” and hold titles like Grand Master, Prior, and Chancellor.

My players and I are familiar with St. Hubertus from a couple of werewolf hunting adventures in our campaign. I referred to St. Hubertus in previous posts here and here. In the real world, the Key of St. Hubertus was thought to prevent or cure the madness caused by dog and wolf bites. In game, I included the key as part of a ritual in Honor+Intrigue for preventing lycanthropy. But what would be more natural than for there to have been a society of knightly werewolf hunters? More natural that is, if werewolves were real.

For those wanting to use the Order in a more modern setting, something could certainly be made of the connections to the Holy Roman Empire. And the Order being banned by Adolf Hitler is pure horror roleplaying gold. Was Hitler concerned that the werewolf hunting skills of the Order would provide a counter to the secret occult purpose behind Operation Werwolf?

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Art for RPGs

I talked about werewolves, or loup garou, as they are called in France, in a series of Halloween posts that started here. In that series I included the H+I werewolf stats and an adventure seed based on the adventure I ran. In that adventure I showed the players this picture when they encountered their first real loup garou. 

Werewolf in My Bedroom by artikid 

Appropriately (though somewhat coincidentally) their first encountered with the creature actually did occur as it was  breaking into a woman's inn room. Even though the female NPC was not a sword wielding character, I think the art helped to depict the scene for the players making it seem more real or alive. Good art can do that.

The artist of this piece goes by the handle Artikid. But is also known as Luigi Castellani. He's a freelance artist who has done work for a number of OSR products including BRW games, Sine-Nomine Publishing or Small Niche Games. He did some of the great art for Spears of the Dawn. He recently announced on the RPGSite that he takes commissions.

My B/W art rates usually range from 20$ for quarter pagers or less to 80$ for full pagers. Complexity (or lack of it) of the piece may affect the basic rate.
Color usually costs twice.
At these prices I retain rights and may sell the art again to someone else.
Cover art and selling of rights is subject to negotiation.
I accept payment via paypal.

I've used commission art for a couple of campaigns. My co-GM commissioned head shots, from Dave Cummings, for our crew for the FASA Star Trek game. She also used character art from the previous campaign she had played in (Dave was the GM for the original Star Trek game from which our campaign was a spin out) as some of those characters appeared as NPCs or in the background of our campaign.

For our long-running Star Wars D6 campaign, I commissioned character art from Chris Irvin for my PC, her PC, and my wife's sometime PC/NPC. My avatar on RPGSite is a from one of my PC pictures.

Bren Fairchilde, Young Jedi Knight

Chris was an artist at Michigan State University's Virtual University. Chris was a lot of fun to work with and he did a great job on all the art. One of his more recent projects is Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. I don't usually include stuff that is totally unrelated to the Early Modern Period or H+I on this blog, but Chris' art is so good I just had to include a few examples.

I find character art very helpful in envisioning characters and just a lot of fun to have in general. So check these guys out!

Here's some more of Chris' art.

Arkel Tevar Tris Lom’zee’tah’Skass Trofar Fas’Tawws

Murlyn Tarrick, X-Wing Pilot and Jedi Padawan

EDIT: I had to go back and recreate all the links for the pictures. Although they showed fine on my screen (natch) they didn't view on a friend of mine's screen. Sigh! I think it is fixed now.
EDIT 2: Fix didn't work. More research requited to get the links to work. Double sigh! 

Stats for the Three Musketeers

When I first started running Honor+Intrigue I thought that Athos, Porthos, and Aramis would be allies or possibly rivals for the player characters. One of the PCs, Lucien de Bourges, started as a Musketeer and became acquainted with Athos who taught him some fine points of swordsmanship. But alas, the plans of mice and GMs often go astray. Lucien's player took a gaming hiatus and for various reasons two of the PCs ended up working for Cardinal Richelieu. Now that Three Inseparables are rivals and enemies of some of the PCs. So in a way, the stats for the three have become even more important than if they were fellow Musketeers, acquaintances, and occasional allies.


For models, we voted on which of the various versions of the Musketeers should be used. A consensus, though not a unanimous one, was reached to use the characters from the Lester's 1973 film. Athos and Aramis tend to be fairly consistent between film and TV versions. The character that has the most variety is probably Porthos. In the Three Musketeers he is depicted much like the film versions. A bit vain with his partly gilded sash and certainly not the brightest of the four main characters. He is bluff, hearty, and loud and possibly larger than the other Musketeers though not exceptionally strong. However in Dumas' third tale, The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later Porthos is described as the "Hercules of France" and his death in the third part of the story, The Man in the Iron Mask, makes a main point of his mighty strength. This element of Porthos is usually downplayed or even wholly absent in film - with one exception. The clockpunk 2011 film version of the Three Musketeers has Ray Stevens (who was absolutely fabulous as Titus Pullo in HBO's Rome) playing an extremely mighty Porthos who hearkens back to the ending Dumas wrote for the Hercules of France.


To be fair, the BBC TV version of The Musketeers does make Porthos the strongest of the four, though not so strong as to count as a Hercules. The BBC program which airs on BBC America is well worth a watch. With the loss of Richelieu to Dr Who it has verged even further into alternate history, but every episode has some exciting dueling, a decent amount of intrigue, a few fascinating plots and NPCs to steal, and some really great props. Seeing actual matchlocks and wheellock weapons being used is a special treat.


So here are the Honor+Intrigue stats I use for the Three Musketeers.

Athos King's Musketeer and notable swordsman SR 7+ PC Image: PC20130531B-254 Location: King’s Musketeer Athos is the nom de guerre of one of the King’s Musketeers, a brooding, cultured soldier with an affinity for strong drink in large quantities. He is one of three comrades regarded as the best swordsmen in the company; Aramis and Porthos are the other two. The oldest of the trio, Athos is seen as their unofficial leader. Athos is served by a lackey named Grimaud, a Breton. Grimaud rarely speaks in the presence of his master, the two communicating by a sort of sign language. He taught Lucien de Bourges mastery of the Feint maneuver. He was recently wounded and defeated in a duel by Gaston Thibeault. Might 1                   Daring 3                  Savvy 1                   Flair 2 Brawl 1                   Melee 4                   Ranged 1                 Defense 2 Noble 3                   Duelist 3                  Soldier 2                  Sailor 0 Lifeblood 9              Composure 3           Advantage 5            Fortune 6 Boons: Daredevil, Dueling Style (French), Good Etiquette, Hard Drinker (Bonus Die to resist intoxication), Left Handed Training, Membership (King's Musketeers) Flaws: Arrogant, Drunkard, Terrible Secret (murdered his wife) Rapier: 1d6+1 Dmg; +1 Parry Dagger: 1d3+2 Dmg; 5' Range, +1 Called Shot Cloak: NA Dmg; +1 Bind, +1 Feint Maneuvers: Bladework+7, Brawling+4, Dirty Fighting+3, Disarm+5, Glide (Bonus+6), Hilt Punch+5, Lunge+7, Quick Cut+6, Tag (Bonus+6); Beat+5, Bind+5, Feint (Bonus+6), Footwork (Bonus+5), Grapple+2, Shove/Trip+3; Cloak Parry +6, Dodge, Parry +5, Riposte+5 NPC in: L'Honneur et les Intrigues (Fictional)

Porthos King's Musketeer and would-be gentleman            SR 7+ PC Image: PC20130531B-264 Location: King’s Musketeer Porthos is the nom de guerre of one of a trio of soldiers in the King’s Musketeer company. Though strong and large, he has the grace of a swordmaster or dancer. He is one of three comrades regarded as the best swordsmen in the company; Aramis and Athos are the other two. A practical, earthy man, Porthos is not as clever, intellecutal, nor as refined as his friends Aramis and Athos. He is the swordmaster who taught Aramis (Chevalier d’Herblay) to fence, he and Aramis together recently joined the musketeers after Aramis killed an important noble in an illegal duel. Two of his fellow Musketeers, Cadilhac and Termopillae have presuaded Porthos to avenge the Musketeers honor by fighting a duel with Gaston Thibeault. Porthos dresses the part of a courtier, subject to the fiscal limitations of both his vocation as a soldier and his skill as a Lothario. His fortunes are such that he rarely makes the impression he hopes. His clear intent is to marry a wealthy woman and retire to the life of a gentilhomme. Porthos is served by a lackey named Mousqueton, a man who like his master aspires to the finer things in life. Porthos’ mistress is clever, gray-eyed Madam Athenais Coquenard who is married to an old, wealthy, but miserly attorney. Porthos was recently defeated by Norbert Thibeault, a giant Cardinal’s Guard who brained Porthos with a large flower urn. Porthos claims he will get his revenge once his head heals. Might 3                   Daring 2                  Savvy ‑1                  Flair 1 Brawl 2                   Melee 3                   Ranged 1                 Defense 1 Gentleman 0            Duelist 2                  Soldier 2                  Don Juan 1 Lifeblood 15            Composure 3           Advantage 5            Fortune 4 Boons: Dueling Style (French), Membership (King's Musketeers), Strength Feat, Flaws: Arrogant, Braggart Rapier: 1d6+3 Dmg; +1 Parry Dagger: 1d3+4 Dmg; 5' Range, 1d3+2 Dmg; +1 Called Shot Cloak: NA Dmg; +1 Bind, +1 Feint Cane: 1d6+2 Dmg; Maneuvers: Bladework+5, Blade Throw+4, Brawling+4, Choke/Crush+5, Disarm+6, Dirty Fighting+3, Glide (Bonus+4), Hilt Punch+6, Lunge+5, Tag (Bonus+4), Beat+6, Bind+6, Feint (Bonus+4), Footwork (Bonus+2), Grapple+5, Shove/Trip+5, Cloak Parry +4, Dodge, Parry +2, Riposte+2, Stop‑Thrust +5; Ranged Attack +0 NPC in: L'Honneur et les Intrigues

Aramis King's Musketeer and occasional student of theology       SR 7+ PC20130531B-251 Location: King’s Musketeer Aramis is the nom de guerre of the Chevalier d’Herblay. He is one of three comrades regarded as the best swordsmen in the company; Athos and Porthos are the other two. Aramis and his friend Porthos together recently joined the musketeers after Aramis killed an important noble in an illegal duel – Porthos was the swordmaster who taught the would-be cleric to fence. Together with their friend Athos, they form a trio of soldiers in the King’s Musketeer company. Aramis is clever with a Jesuit trained intellect and a natural flair for the intricate politics and schemes of the court. Aramis claims to be serving in the musketeers only until such time as he takes vows to become a priest, However, he is considered an intelligent but diffident student. Aramis is better known for his mistresses and his skill with the rapier. He is served by a lackey named Bazin, a pious man who looks forward to the day when Aramis takes his vows, so that he can serve a member of the clergy. He recently fought a duel to a draw with Jacques Dlancey, one of the Cardinal’s Red Guards. Aramis claims he could have defeated Dlancey but he instead proposed a draw as a matter of strategy as Dlancey was about to be reinforced by two other Red Guards. Might 0             Daring 2            Savvy 3             Flair 2 Brawl 0             Melee 3             Ranged 1           Defense 2 Don Juan 3        Clergy 1            Duelist 2            Soldier 1            Courtier 2 Lifeblood 8          Composure 3       Advantage 5        Fortune 6 Boons: Dueling Style (Spanish), Friends in Many Places: (I know a man…), Jack of All Trades, Membership (King's Musketeers), Savant, Silver Tongue Flaws: Hot-Headed, Lustful Rapier: 1d6 Dmg; [+1] Parry T. Knife: 1d3+1 Dmg; 10’ range, +1 Called Shot, +1 Quick-Draw, ‑1 Melee Cloak: NA Dmg; +1 Bind, +1 Feint Maneuvers: Bladework+5, Dirty Fighting+2, Glide+5, Quick Cut (Bonus+5), Tag (Bonus+5), Feint+5, Footwork (Bonus+6), Dodge, Parry+6[+7], Riposte+6 NPC in: L'Honneur et les Intrigues

Wonder of wonders the formatting looks pretty good. The NPC record I use in play pasted nicely into Blogger. I use half page sheets for the important NPCs.
Acknowledgements: I used the stats from Black Vulmea's excellent web site as the starting point for the Three Musketeers. Here are his originals: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.

Star Trek Continues

This is off topic for this blog, but I just have to mention this thing I found...well actually my wife found it. While searching for something that now escapes her recall. We both wondered how, as long time Star Trek fans, we could be completely unaware of this....

Well enough with the preamble. If you haven't seen it, you must watch the web series, Star Trek Continues. It is eerily faithful to the tone, look, and style of the original series. The acting is acceptable, some is good, some just OK, and some is excellent. The special guest star, Michael Forest is outstanding. Overall the show is amazing. The sets, camera angles, music, and SFX sounds are exactly like the old show. It's a non-profit effort that looks to be much the creation of Vic Mignogna, who did the voice of Edward Elric in the Full Metal Alchemist. Vic does a good job playing Captain Kirk, who he looks much like in several shots, and also co-wrote, directed, and edited the first episode. I haven't watched the other episodes yet, but based on the first one it is well worth 51 minutes of your time.


This show is clearly a labor of love. It is the series that you and your nerdy friends wanted to create back in high school or college, except the people who created this are professionals who did a great job and made a show that other people would actually want to watch.


Live long and prosper.