Come, Little Children, Let’s Play D&D with ‘Hocus Pocus’s Sanderson Sisters
Dungeons and Dragons is all just a bunch of Hocus Pocus when the Sanderson Sisters cast a spell on you at the gaming table.
Hocus Pocus is one of the most iconic Halloween movies and it’s officially the perfect time of year to re-watch all of those faux scary witch movies with way too much candy. And not only that, the sequel is officially out today! Will it be good? We’re about to find out! Of course, if you’re looking for a more hands-on experience, it’s the right time to start planning a spooky game for your adventuring party. Why not combine a few of our favorite things and inflict the Sanderson Sisters on your friends?
Sheet Made With The Homebrewery.
Right off the top, these aren’t terribly challenging monsters to fight. They have relatively few offensive moves and are more focused on getting other people to do their dirty work and keep themselves out of harm’s way. This encounter would be more frustrating than difficult, and would probably work best in tandem with another more attack-driven monster. But the Sandersons and Hocus Pocus by design aren’t scary as much as silly. So an encounter with them should match that tone.
The Sanderson Sisters are witches, so the thing I spent the most time on was their magic abilities and spells. They only cast at a fifth level because, honestly, they’re a little inept. But level three spells give them fly and bestow curse, which are two of the big ones they’d need. In case they’re out of spell slots and can’t find a broom (or a mop or a vacuum cleaner), I also gave them a flying action for good measure. They’re witches, broom flights are one of their more important abilities. Aside from flight, I focused on spells that would help them charm, control, and confuse their victims. There are a few offensive spells mixed in there, but it’s not their primary move at all. Y’know, they’ll put a spell on you. And then you’re theirs.
The sisters are three separate people, meaning they could technically attack, cast spells, or have their portion of the hit points shaved away individually. But they are also seemingly inseparable and would likely travel and attack together. Multiattack allows each of them to cast a spell, make a move, or charm a potential victim into helping them while not technically moving as individuals each turn. Giving them an entire action for Charm was inspired by the scene at the Party where they charmed every adult in Salem.
I had considered giving them a Vampiric Touch-esque ability. Their motivation is mostly driven by finding and draining the life force from kids to keep themselves youngish, after all. But in the end, I thought that the ritual nature of that spell in the movie would make it more fun as a flavor than something that they could use in an encounter. For your own game, I’d completely support adding something similar to allow them to regain Hit Points or Spell Slots.
How would you make the Sanderson Sisters for D&D? Would you play a Hocus Pocus-inspired D&D game? Have you seen Hocus Pocus 2 yet and what did you think? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Adventuring!
