A really compelling and unique game based around tarot. A dirty, gritty femme-core matriarch-sister to Mork-Borg, it is an entirely fleshy, disgusting and compelling romp for those of us who just want death and destruction and decay, in a feminist frame of reference. The game is beautifully designed, a feast for the eyes to read. The setting is compelling and rotten and everything it should be. It's certainly not a game for the faint of heart- but you knew that going in, didn't you?

My one complaint is that the game doesn't print well. A text-only or image-reduced b+w pdf would be beneficial for when it's brought to the table. Other than that, excellent, and everything I wanted from this!

Orignially posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/10/100-days-of-halloween-witch-fated-souls.html

Witch: Fated Souls Second Edition

I have been a fan of Witch: Fated Souls and Elizabeth Chaipraditkul for a while now. I even got her to the foreword for my own The Green Witch for Swords & Wizardry book.

So for this Halloween day, I give you Witch: Fated Souls Second Edition, Quickstart, AND the Witch: Fated Souls Second Edition, Kickstarter.

Quickstart

PDF. 36 pages. Full-color cover and interior art.

Design & Development: Elizabeth Chaipraditkul & Steffie de Vaan

This quick start covers the basic rules of Witch: Fated Souls Second Edition and includes a quick adventure to play.

Like the 1st Edition, Witch: FS2 deals with people (Witches or "The Fated") who sell their souls for power in the modern world. The different sorts of "demons" these characters sell their souls to will determine what sorts of power they will get and how they interact with the world, or their "Fates".

Pausing for a second I can see already improvements in gameplay, readability, and layout of this Quickstart over the original Witch: FS1.

Characters now have nine abilities, not eight, and are grouped by Mind, Body, and Spirit with three sub-attributes each. These are all explained and how they are used in the QS. Checks are also explained. The new mechanics are based on Elizabeth Chaipraditkul and Steffie de Vaan's other game Afterlife: Wandering Souls. This opens up a whole level of play if you have both games. But I am going to wait on that one.

We have a section on magic and knowing Witch: FS1 there is going to be a lot more in Witch: FS2.

There is even some detail on advancement. So really, as far as characters go you have enough here to keep you busy until the Second Edition Kickstarter is done.

Demons are covered in their own section and they are the most interesting and likely complicated thing in this game. Complicated that is in how to run them and interact with their Fated.

The last half of the quickstart covers the included sample adventure, "The Devil Made Me Do It."

There are included NPCs, similar to the ones that appear in Witch: FS1 and using the same art; which is great for returning players helping them get acclimated to the new system. It is recommended you use these characters to aid you in learning the game.

The Fated

If the full product is anything like this Quickstart then we are in for a treat!

For the last few days, I have soloed my way through Witch: Fated Souls 2e Quickstart (36 pages, free at DriveThruRPG). This is like the TV show Supernatural, but you are playing a witch. I used Solo by M. D. Spurlock (12 pages, free/pay what you want at DriveThruRPG) as the solo engine. I did use six of the seven player characters that are included in the Quickstart.

I changed the location, so the characters started at the Oregon District in Dayton, Ohio on a Friday night. They noticed that they were being watched, so they did have a conversation with her (Lara). Their friend Jens showed up, they picked up a calling card from the ground (a clue), and John the PC went into White’s Pawn & Gun and bought a .38 Special and a switchblade. John wanted ammo for his gun, so the second location they visited was Charlie’s Firearms down by the Miami river. The third location was Decker’s Pawn Shop (they had followed the clue). Next they went back to their Coven Home. They ate dinner and then they were visited by Jens. He told them his new problem (it is a quest).

They went to their fifth location, Pearl’s Fen, a wetland. It was here that they ran into four cultists (they worship the serpent). The leader was armed with a sacrificial dagger and he wanted to use it. Mae stabs one of them, John punches one, and Diego kills two with the gun. The cultists run away. Now they have to deal with the serpent. They figure out that it used to be a naiad. Diego has a solution. He kills the serpent with his gun. They now gather up some swamp water and head back home. It is here that they heat up the water and use condensation to purify this water (now it is a quest item). Next, they go to Decker’s Pawn Shop. Lara is there again and they have a chat with her (she is not human). Jens now goes into the shop and exchanges the Water of Acheron for his soul. So, Jens is now “cured” but the forces of evil now have a magic item that they wanted. Yep, things are going to get ugly.

Give this fun RPG a try!

Overall, I enjoyed this game. It feels very well put together, overall. That said, it's not perfect, so I'd like to share some suggestions.

What Was Good:

• The magic mechanics are just about as perfect as they come. The book's metaphysics are tight and easy to understand.
• This book contains everything I could possibly need to play an intriguing witch, and every single splat appeals to me in some way.
• The tone of the setting, as well, is also excellent. I like how, despite shooting for demonic horror, the game isn't overly Christian in its themes and portrayal. Spirits of all sorts are still individuals, and even the ones that aren't quite as close to being people aren't necessarily evil by default, just weird.

What Could Use Work:

• No table of contents. Fix this immediately so I can find things, please.
• The book really likes to bring up "insanity" a lot. Not to explore it in a meaningful, educated way, but as a spooky setting element. This just isn't all that fun or interesting or, for that matter, respectful to those who are mentally ill in real life. That said, these rules are generally non-intrusive and easy to modify.
• Djinni as a type of witch is weird, and focusing on the wish-granting aspect of djinn is kinda silly. It's still set up in a way that I like on the whole, though, so I'm okay with it.
• Manitou as a word comes from the Algonquin Tribe's belief system, same as the wndigo. Djinn and sosye are both from a still-living religious practice, but Islam, Hoodoo, and their fairy tales (especially the former) are open. The Algonquin People are firmly on the record as CLOSED religions, and so I'd just call these critters something like "animisms."

Aside from that, I have no complaints. Good work!

It was a fresh take. I don't think i cared much for it but i can appreciate the fresh coat of paint it brings

Wonderful take on the "wraith" genre, with a whole setting to get lost into and a masterful fusion of storytelling and light-crunch. Pool based systems are all you need to keep things moving, along with these interesting in-game concepts, perfectly represented by the mechanics themselves. Never played it yet, but a campaign is coming. As a RPG enthusiast and critical system / game / design philosophy analyzer, I think this is a wonderful piece of art, not considering the awesome aesthetics, adding great value to the purchase.

"If you want to really explore who a character is, so much so that even you the player are only really meeting them for the first time over the course of the campaign, in a world that manages to be different from what you’ll find in almost any other game, than you should be giving this one a try. Afterlife makes randomized character creation fun and interesting (I’d say even for the holdouts), has simple mechanics that even newcomers will find easy to pick up, possesses a slew of interesting abilities and impressive powers, explores a fascinating world and the worlds within it, and gives you plenty upon plenty of meaningful choices."

Read the full CHG review/interview here: https://cannibalhalflinggaming.com/2019/11/19/the-independents-afterlife-wandering-souls/

Afterlife: Wandering Souls is one of my favorite games I've played. The setting is rich and mysterious and the character creation is compelling and engaging. The art is beautiful and strange. I've run this game for a number of folks now and consistantly they comment on how easy it was to pick up and how much they want to play it again.

The system that Angry Hamster developed for this game is simple, really stripped down to the core of what works. You can see elements of other games in it but the way those ingredients come together is, I think, something pretty unique and really fun to use.

If you're the type of person that likes to chop games up and mix them around, there's a lot of ideas you could easily lift out of Afterlife and use as inspiration for other games. The variety of types of gameplay possible is huge but its all unified by a central theme of discovery, adventure and reflection.

All in all, can't recommend this game enough.

Interesting concept and easy to understand game mechanics. The whole concept of being a character who tries to remember who they were and role playing discovering a history goes far in bringing to life and developing an investment in the game for good or bad. Definitely add a personal flair and make this game your own as the more you customize it, the more hard hitting the action becomes.

I haven't had a chance to play this yet, so take my review with a grain of salt. It looks very interesting story wise, has enough in the way of rules to be directed, but not so much as to be restrictive. Creative systems for item crafting and potion brewing and spells are diverse in potential uses. This is a much slower game than other rpg's I've seen (some things are measures in months or years of in game time), which works because this is more narrative focused game. There are a good handful of typos however. Nothing too major, but enough to trip you up (there are a lot in the potions section which can make brewing difficult).

Review: WITCH Fated Souls

I supported the WITCH: Fated Souls Kickstarter back when it was coming out and have been meaning to do a review for ages. Given that Halloween is nigh and the PDF is on sale at DriveThruRPG this might be a great time.

+Elizabeth Chaipraditkul is a new name to the RPG biz, but one that is getting out there. In addition to being the lead hamster at +Angry Hamster Publishing she is also working with +Stacy Dellorfano on a new adventure for the upcoming Swords & Wizardry Complete 3rd Printing Kickstarter. WITCH: Fated Souls though is her masterwork.

WFS is a modern supernatural game. It has elements of horror and universe destroying, or defining, magics. Now lets be 100% fair here. We all have several of these sorts of games. I have more than I can count right now and I have written or worked on a few myself. So any game in this field has some really steep competition. For myself I am likely to compare this game to CJ Carrella's WitchCraft and to Mage: the Ascension. I am also likely to compare this to Ron Edwards' Sorcerer.

Liz has an impressive RPG Playing career and you can see influences of D&D, Vampire, and Mage in her game. So WFS can be judged as a setting and for her game mechanics.

As mentioned WFS is a Modern Supernatural game with elements of horror. Not, "you fail a SAN check" sort of horror but more along the lines of "what are you willing to do, willing to give up, for power". The characters of WFS are witches, also known as the Fated. These characters have sold their soul to a "demon" for power. In some cases, this is a fire and brimstone devil or it's a nebulous concept, the Horned Beast, the Reynard, or it is something they don't even understand themselves.

For my review I am looking over my hardcover book and PDF from my Kickstarter package. This included a GM screen and a deck of "Devil Deck Cards". I also got a lot of images, character sheet package PDF and some desktop wallpapers. The book is 208 pages, standard format with full-color covers and interiors, though the color palette is predominantly blacks, blues, and violets.

WITCH is divided up into nine chapters and an introduction.

INTRODUCTION Here we get some setting fiction and the typical "what are RPGs" section. There is also a Chapter overview here.

CHAPTER 1: Character Creation WFS is a character focused game. One might even say it is a story-telling game, but it has more crunch than most storytelling games. Regardless of what you might, or might not, call it, characters are the most important element. What will your character do for power? What will they sacrifice and how much of their humanity is left when they are done? In this respect, it has a lot in common with Vampire and Sorcerer. You are expected to have a concept in mind when you begin your character creation. To this end the various "Fate" or types of Witch you can become are presented. These include the Hecks, Druids, Djinn, Yokai, Sósyé, Liches, and Seers. You can read about all of these and get details on who they are and what they do on AngryHamster's webiste, http://www.angryhamsterpublishing.com/witch/. Also detailed here are the types of demons associated with each Fate. When creating a character the player needs to think about who this character is and what they are going to be doing in this world. So there are prompts like "Before my Fating..." and "I was Fated because..." and "My relationship with my demon is..." Here, and throughout the book there are examples and story elements to help guide you. There is also a step by step instruction guide. Character creation, mechanically speaking, is a case of point-buy. If you have played WoD, GURPS, Unisystem or other games then this will feel familiar. Like WoD and WitchCraft we also get a couple pages, with character art, dedicated to each Fate. The art in this game is really great.

CHAPTER 2: Vital Statistics This deals with the stats of your character; attributes (nearly fixed qualities like Charisma, Dexterity, and Intelligence), skills (who good are you at driving, etiquette, social empathy), pursuits (things you own or are), and talents (akin to magical skills or qualities). This is set up similar to many games so navigating what this is and how to use it are not difficult. There is a LOT of room for customization so the number of potential characters is really great. So there is no reason for every Sósyé or Djinn to be the same as the others.

CHAPTER 3: Magic Now this is a fun chapter. An overview of the game mechanics of magic is given including the important "botch" roll. Magic here has a bit of different feel than otehr games. The closest for me is WitchCraft, but with plenty of Mage added in. Magic spells are grouped by Fate. So the Djinn have different magic than the Hecks and so on. All the fated also have access to Rituals, these are "longer" spells that take time and sometimes multiple casters. Others are simple spells that are more rote. In a similar cancept we are also given potions. This is a true gem of these rules since it represents one of the best potion creation, use and mixing rules outside of the 1st Ed Dungeon Masters Guide. It also has some of the most attractive art too.

The magic alteration section is great.

CHAPTER 4: Higher Spell Levels This chapter is a treat since "higher level spells" are treated as something qualitatively different than the lower, more common magic. The only thing I can compare this to is as if there was a new D&D book that covered 10th level spells. This spells, known as Deireadh spells, can significanly alter the world and the character including, but not limited too, casting off their own demon. Even if I never get a chance to use this chapter in a WFS game, it has given me plenty of ideas.

CHAPTER 5: Mechanics The mechanics of WFS is pretty simple. 2d10 add the necessary mods and roll higher than a 13 (or 11 in some cases). This makes many of the rule mechanics easy to abstract. Sure if you roll higher (with mods) than a 25 then you get an Outstanding Success and a natural 20 is still good. Botching is getting two "1"s. So again, the feel here is very much like WitchCraft. Picking up these rules are a simple matter. The rules have some special cases of course. Combat versus non-combat and using Talents. But nothing here will cause any experienced gamer any concerns. There are plenty of weapons here too. Don't go into this looking for differences between various types of guns, the rules are simplified to "light revolver" and "heavy revolver". But that is really all the game details you need.

CHAPTER 6: Expanded Mechanics This chpater covers some specifics like wishes (we have Djinn afterall), Familiars, Artefacts, and using the Devil's Deck. The Devil's Deck was part of the Kickstarter and it looks fantastic. I think you can order one from AngryHamster, but a "Witches" Tarot deck would work out well too.

CHAPTER 7: Setting This covers the setting and the history of the WFS world. This is what helps set this apart from other games of it's genre. I say "world" but I also mean areas and places from beyond this world.

CHAPTER 8: Animals, Entities, and Foes Pretty much what is says on the tin. Though there is a section up front on the various demons you can serve and what they are all about. A lot of creatures are present here (and many more an be added). There is also a good section of NPCs.

CHAPTER 9: GM Guide Covers running the game and how to set the tone for this game.

I have been picking at this book for months and maybe it because it is close to Halloween I now get what I want to do with it. This is a great game and with the right group, it will be a ton of fun. I'd love to try it at a con sometime, but this is a game of many sessions and developing plots and layers of story. This is a game of investment.

I will be spending some more time with it. Will it replace WitchCraft in my life? No. But it will make a for a nice addition.

I really, really like this game and want it do well. The potential here is great.

Full review posted on The Grassy Gnoll

I was a backer for this game on Kickstarter, and can honestly say I'm really happy with how it turned out. It boasts an interesting setting, a solid mechanical basis (using 2d10 + relevant modifiers vs a target number), and some seriously skilled design work both in terms of concept and design.

In terms of presentation, it's gorgeous. Well laid out, easy to read, (mostly) beatufiul artwork (there are some weaker pieces, but I've never yet seen a book that doesn't have art on both ends of the spectrum). I've got a physical copy of the book, and the quality is up to the standards of the big publishing houses, and in some cases even better. The paper is a high quality stock with a nice glossy finish, and the construction is really solid. I've been toting it around in my laptop bag to read on breaks for a month or so, and it's not showing any wear yet. Well worth the extra cash to get a physical copy if you like the game.

It's by no means a perfect game, but it's a seriously strong first release from a new company, and I can't wait to see what else they do.

Great product, love the art and thematic feel of the game, produces interesting elephant in the closet roleplaying experiences. Backed on Kickstarter and feel that it has exceeded my expectations!

I backed this on Kickstarter because of the interesting premise, expecting the final product to be on par with other indie games. I was floored by the quality! For $15 this is an amazing purchase, well worth the money. It's a fairly simple system mechanic, but the flavor is fantastic. Really encourages players to think about how to solve problems differently, rather than picking one approach and going with it over and over (as I have had happen in games sometimes). Again, it's well worth it, just a gorgeous book.