Buy me a coffeeFriday the 13th (franchise) (1980 – present)
Fridays will never be the same again.
Friday the 13th is an American horror franchise that comprises twelve slasher films, a television show, novels, comic books, video games, and tie‑in merchandise.
The franchise mainly focuses on the fictional character Jason Voorhees, who drowned as a boy at Camp Crystal Lake due to the negligence of the camp staff. Decades later, the lake is rumored to be “cursed” and is the setting for a series of mass murders. Jason is featured in all of the films, as either the killer or the motivation for the killings. The original film was written by Victor Miller and was produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham. The films have grossed over $464 million at the box-office worldwide.
The first film was created to cash in on the success of Halloween (1978),[1] and its own success led Paramount Pictures to purchase the full licensing rights to Friday the 13th. Frank Mancuso, Jr., a producer of the films, also developed the television show Friday the 13th: The Series after Paramount released Jason Lives. The television series was not connected to the franchise by any character or setting, but was created based on the idea of “bad luck and curses”, which the film series symbolized.[2]
While the franchise was owned by Paramount, four films were adapted into novels, with Friday the 13th Part III adapted by two separate authors. When the franchise was sold to New Line Cinema, Cunningham returned as a producer to oversee two additional films, in addition to a crossover film with character Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. Under New Line Cinema, thirteen novellas and various comic book series featuring Jason were published.
Although the films were not popular with critics, Friday the 13th is considered one of the most successful media franchises in America—not only for the success of the films, but also because of the extensive merchandising and repeated references to the series in popular culture.[3] The franchise’s popularity has generated a fanbase who have created their own Friday the 13th films, fashioned replica Jason Voorhees costumes, and tattooed their bodies with Friday the 13th artwork. Jason’s hockey mask has become one of the most recognizable images in horror and popular culture.[4]
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday the 13th | May 9, 1980 | Sean S. Cunningham | Victor Miller | Sean S. Cunningham | |
| Friday the 13th Part 2 | April 30, 1981 | Steve Miner | Ron Kurz | Steve Miner | |
| Friday the 13th Part III | August 13, 1982 | Martin Kitrosser & Carol Watson | Frank Mancuso Jr. | ||
| Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter | April 13, 1984 | Joseph Zito | Barney Cohen | Bruce Hidemi Sakow | |
| Friday the 13th: A New Beginning | March 22, 1985 | Danny Steinmann | Martin Kitrosser, David Cohen & Danny Steinmann | Martin Kitrosser & David Cohen | Timothy Silver |
| Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives | August 1, 1986 | Tom McLoughlin | Tom McLoughlin | Don Behrns | |
| Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood | May 13, 1988 | John Carl Buechler | Manuel Fidello & Daryl Haney | Iain Paterson | |
| Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan | July 28, 1989 | Rob Hedden | Rob Hedden | Randy Cheveldave | |
| Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday | August 13, 1993 | Adam Marcus | Jay Huguely & Dean Lorey | Jay Huguely, Adam Marcus & Dean Lorey | Sean S. Cunningham and Debbie Hayn-Cass |
| Jason X | April 26, 2002 | James Isaac | Todd Farmer | Noel Cunningham, Sean S. Cunningham and James Isaac | |
| Freddy vs. Jason | August 15, 2003 | Ronny Yu | Damian Shannon & Mark Swift | Sean S. Cunningham | |
| Friday the 13th | February 13, 2009 | Marcus Nispel | Damian Shannon & Mark Swift | Mark Swift, Damian Shannon & Mark Wheaton | Sean S. Cunningham, Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller |
Notes
- Grove, David (February 2005). Making Friday the 13th: The Legend of Camp Blood. United Kingdom: FAB Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN 1-903254-31-0.
- Grove, David, pp. 189–196
- “IGN:Top 25 Movie Franchises of All Time: #7”. IGN. 2006-12-18. Archived from the original on 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
- Gary Kemble (2006-01-13). “Movie Minutiae: the Friday the 13th series (1980-?)”. ABC. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
Jason Voorhees
Stat Anything – Jason Voorhees | New Monster for Fifth Edition – DM Dave | All Things Fifth Edition
Jason Voorhees is the main antagonist and center piece of the Friday the 13th franchise and one of the two main antagonists of the crossover film Freddy vs. Jason, along with Freddy Krueger. He was an almost completely silent, undead and seemingly unstoppable killing machine. Jason was an iconic madman who haunts Camp Crystal Lake and the surrounding area, driven to slaughter anyone he encounters by a burning need to avenge the death of his beloved mother, Pamela Voorhees.
Jason Voorhees has killed about 161 people, (some of which are completely off-screen) over the years.
Jason Voorhees
Medium undead, chaotic evil
Armor Class 10
Hit Points 142 (15d8 + 75)
Speed 40 ft., swim 40 ft.
Abilities
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 (+5) | 10 (+0) | 20 (+5) | 13 (+1) | 13 (+1) | 7 (-2) |
Saving Throws Str +10, Con +10, Cha +3
Skills Perception +6, Stealth +5
Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire
Damage Immunities lightning, poison, necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Condition Immunities exhaustion, paralyzed, poisoned
Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages understands English but doesn’t speak
Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)
Brawler. Jason is proficient with improvised weapons. In addition, when he hits a creature with a melee weapon attack on his turn, he can use his bonus action to attempt to grapple the target.
Brute. A melee weapon deals two extra dice of its damage when Jason hits with it (included in the attack).
Detect Humanoids. Jason can magically sense the presence of humanoids up to 5 miles away. Jason knows the direction and exact distance to the creature.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Jason fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Lightning Absorption. Whenever Jason is subjected to lightning damage, he takes no damage and instead regains a number of hit points equal to the lightning damage dealt.
Regeneration. Jason regains 10 hit points at the start of his turn. If Jason takes radiant damage, this trait doesn’t function at the start of his next turn. Jason’s body is destroyed only if he starts his turn with 0 hit points and doesn’t regenerate.
Rejuvenation. When Jason’s body is destroyed, his soul lingers. After 24 hours, his soul inhabits and animates another corpse on the same plane of existence and regains all its hit points. While the soul is bodiless, a wish spell can be used to force Jason’s soul to go to the afterlife and not return.
Turn Immunity. Jason is immune to effects that turn undead.
Actions
Multiattack. Jason makes two melee weapon attacks.
Machete. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 40/120 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (3d6 + 5) slashing damage.
Head Crush. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature that Jason is grappling. Hit: 26 (6d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage. If this attack reduces a creature’s hit points to 0 or less, Jason crushes the creature’s head. The creature dies if it can’t survive without the lost head. A creature is immune to this effect if it is immune to bludgeoning damage, doesn’t have or need a head, has legendary actions, or the GM decides that the creature is too big for its head to be crushed by Jason.
Legendary Actions
Jason can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Jason regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Attack. Jason makes an attack with his machete.
Hide. Jason takes the Hide action.
Teleport (Costs 3 Actions). Jason magically teleports, along with any equipment he is wearing or carrying, up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space he can see.
Undead Nature. Jason does not require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Jason’s Lair
Jason haunts Camp Crystal Lake. Crystal Lake is a dismal place, cursed by Jason’s bloody legacy. Despite the insanely high number of murders that have occurred at the Camp, locals seem to forget the dangers therein. Typically, Jason’s actual lair is a hidden cabin, shed, or cave. Occasionally it may even be the lake itself. While Jason is in his lair, his CR is 16 (15,000 XP).
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Jason takes a lair actions to cause one of the following effects; Jason can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row.
- Each creature within 60 feet of Jason that is aware of him must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. While frightened, a creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from Jason as it can. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action. In addition, when a creature takes the Dash action, it must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or it trips, falling prone in its space.
- Jason magically teleports, along with any equipment he is wearing or carrying, to any unoccupied space in his lair or within 1 mile of his lair. After he does, he can make one melee weapon attack against a target within reach.
- Magical fog billows around a point that Jason can see within 120 feet of him. The fog is a 150-foot radius cylinder that is 20-feet high. It spreads around corners, and its area is lightly obscured. It lasts for up to 1 hour or until a wind of moderate or greater speed (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses it. Once Jason uses this lair action, he can’t use it again for 24 hours.
- A body of one of Jason’s previous kills spontaneously appears in an unoccupied space Jason can see within 120 feet of him. Each creature within 10 feet of the body that is aware of it must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom check, or its movement speed is reduced by half until the next initiative count 20. If the creature was familiar and friendly with the corpse, it makes this check with disadvantage. Creatures immune to being frightened automatically pass their saving throw.
Regional Effects
Camp Crystal Lake and the region containing the camp is warped by Jason evil, creating one or more of the following effects.
- Beasts within 1 mile of the lair become frightened and disoriented, as though constantly under the threat of being hunted, and might lash out or panic even when no visible threat is nearby.
- All checks made to avoid getting lost within 5 miles of Jason’s lair are made with disadvantage.
- If a humanoid spends at least 1 hour within 1 mile of Jason’s lair, it must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or descend into madness. The madness is a character flaw that lasts until cured: “I can do whatever I want; I have no inhibitions.”