RE: [HOE] Wasted West Hodge Podge Questions

["Clint Black" <cblack@ohtinc.com>]

>> 3)Anyone else still working on those "Source books" for: Witches?
>> Sawbones?
>> Or are they pushed to side?
>
>never knew there was any talk about a sawbones book, but the witches...
>If MEG does HoE also, this can be something to bug them about making.
>Complete with D20 stuff too (not that I need it, but they coudl kill two
>Raptors with one LAW Rocket). I've got a couple of witch spells based on
>fairy tales that I've been working on. A follower of Annabelle Lee
>Devlins books developed a few of her own spells and hid the formulas in
>her illustrations of childrens books. I've also been playing with the
>idea that J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter author) is a witch and hid spells in
>her novels for kids.


HA!  Nailed me in one!

The Witch was the follow up to the Librarian update I wrote that was in the
last Epitaph.  And indeed, "J.K. Rollins" is the daughter of Annabelle Lee
Devlin.  Furthermore, it explains why HOE witches aren't "Black Magicians"
like their Weird West counterparts.

The last draft was complete except for spell for 2 of the books and filling
in some effects on the "Ambushed" table.

Tell you what.  If anyone is interested in helping me fill in spells for the
two books, I'll add you under the byline as "with invaluable assistance
from..."

To give you an idea, here's the intro to the article...

Every Witch Way But Loose
By Clint Black


	Great.  What the hell are you doing here, Kane?
	Well, you found me.  Now you can leave.  You have a way of making a bad
situation worse, and this situation has already passed the worse stage.  So
if you don't mind...
	Are you crazy?  There's no way I'm going to tell you the secret history of
witchcraft.  We've been over this before.  There's a reason it's called
secret.
	~I want to tell you the secret history of witchcraft.~
	~Because then you would move along.~
	~These aren't the droids I am looking for.~
	What are you laughing at, doofus?  Look, do you want to know the secret
history or not?
	Mina Devlin?  Why in the hell would I start with her?  She's a pimple on
the history of witchcraft.  Okay, maybe not a pimple.  More like a festering
sore from a sexually transmitted disease.
	The real history of witchcraft starts long before her.  And it's not really
called witchcraft.  And before you interrupt me, it's not Wiccan either.  In
the beginning, it had no name.  And it isn't exactly a religion as it is
knowledge and a belief system.
	Well, it should sound a lot like voodoo since it's the same thing.  Just a
little cultural difference and a different set of archetypes.
	Can you stop interrupting for ten seconds?  I will get to archetypes later.
First, no, witchcraft is not automatically evil.  But when their powers came
back after the Reckoning, the non-evil witches thought it might be a good
idea to hide.  It turned out to be a great idea.  This is where we get to
our festering pimple.
	Mina Devlin, despite the irony, started her own witch hunt.  If she heard
of anyone with the old knowledge, she would make that person disappear.
From what we understand, they would spend a long time being tortured for
their information.
	I'm fine.  It's just some of us have a lot to make up for.  Which brings us
to Mina's descendant, Annabelle Lee.  She learned from Mina's books about
the other witches.  In particular, one in the Appalachian Mountains of North
Carolina that Mina herself had been afraid to cross.  Annabelle Lee went
there to see if she could find any remnant of this woman's knowledge.  She
was surprised to find the old witch alive.
	No, not harrowed.  She was alive.  Looked pretty good too from what I
understand.  She could tell that Annabelle Lee was made of different stuff
from her ancestor, although she did have issues with men.  The old witch
taught Annabelle Lee a few secrets and put the bug in her ear about sharing
her ancestor's knowledge with others.  So, Annabelle Lee learned a few
tricks and then, as you know, wrote her "cookbook" sharing her ancestor's
Minor Arcanum spells with the world.
	Are you telling this story?  No.  Then be quiet.  Anyway, soon after
publishing her book, Annabelle Lee got busted by the Rangers.  Imagine their
surprise when they discovered their prisoner was pregnant.  Turned out old
Annabelle Lee wasn't as much of a man-hater as everyone thought.
	The child, a daughter of course, ended up being adopted by a retired Ranger
and his wife.  Guess where they lived?
	Bingo.  The Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina.  Somehow the old witch
set everything up so she could train a Devlin daughter from birth.
	She taught the daughter about the archetypes.  That's where the true power
of witchcraft comes from.  Anyone can learn to perform the Minor Arcanum
spells I mentioned earlier, but it takes a strong belief in the archetypes
or as the voodooists call them, loas, to tap into the true power of the
Hunting Grounds, the Major Arcanum spells.  Plus the most powerful witches
are favored of a specific archetype.  Kind of like what the voodooists call
being a chual.
	Smart man.  I'm impressed.  That's right, the archetypes for Mina and other
evil witches are manitous.  That's why Annabelle Lee didn't publish any of
Mina's Major Arcanum spells; they were the blackest of black magic.  Be
extra careful around those witches.  Not only do they get a lot of power,
but they're also aware of the cost.  That makes them doubly dangerous.
	Originally, there were thirteen non-evil archetypes; they are creatively
enough called the Thirteen.  I say "originally" because three of them
disappeared on Judgment Day.  Those favored by them went insane.  As did
those who searched too hard for them.  Today, the "Lost Three" are spoken of
no more than what I just told you.  The risk of even thinking about them is
considered too great.  In respect, however, they are all still called the
Thirteen.
	Anyway, back to Annabelle Lee's daughter.  Remember her?  When she was old
enough, the old witch told her the truth about her family.  I'm sure you
think that was risky, but while a witch may show a different face to others,
it is important that she or he always be honest about themselves.
	Eventually, the daughter decided that she needed to pass on what she knew
about  "true witchcraft."  She chose to do it the same way her mother had by
coding it within her books.  You might have heard of her... Julia Kay
Rollins.
	Yes, that J. K. Rollins.  I mean what better way to hide spells than in a
book about kids learning to cast spells.  Plus, it let her get to her
audience at a younger age and teach them a little bit about some real moral
values.
	Of course the Rangers knew who she was and what she was doing.  Why else do
you think she moved to England.  She was able to publish book after book
there, and all the Rangers could do was gnash their collective teeth.
	All of her books contain the information on the archetypes.  The only
difference is that each contains different spells that Julia knew or
discovered.  One of the most interesting is "Perry Trotter and The Captive
of Houma."  It covers her discovery of the link between voodoo and
witchcraft and how the two work together.
	Okay, like take this charm for instance.  In voodoo they call it a conjure
bag.  Different name, same effect.  It protects me from magic.  You know,
things like "old Jedi mind tricks."
	Oh, don't even try to pull that again.  If you don't want me to turn you
into a toad, then you're going to help me out with my problem here.  Later,
we'll discuss whether you get to remember what I've told you.  I hope you're
more convincing this time.


	For a long time in the Wasted West, witches have had the short end of the
broomstick.  It's time to redress that situation, and explain how an old
Arcane Background fits into Hell on Earth.

So, anybody interested in jumping on the broomstick?  ;-)


Clint