Introduction to witches

Witch. The very name summons up images of midnight Sabbats under the full moon. It is a terrible accusation to some, a badge of honor for others.

Liber Mysterium
The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks

By Timothy S. Brannan and The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks Team

But what is a witch?

Over the last two decades, there have been several attempts to bring this character into the fold of the likes of wizards and rogues in various fantasy roleplaying games. Some have been successful, but most today have been regarded as half-hearted attempts. With the advent of the new d20 Game System, the witch has a chance to grow into the character type that does the witch of myth and legends justice, and preserve the mystery and unique characteristics of the witch.

Anyone with even passing familiarity with fairytales or mythology knows witches are practitioners of ancient religions. Morgan Le Fey, Circe, and Baba Yaga, were not wizards as depicted in various FRPG sources, but priestesses of Goddesses (or Gods) of old religions and forgotten ways. The word “witch” comes from the Old English wicce, pronounced “wiche” or “wikke” and “wicca,” which are in turn derived from the root wikk, which applies to magic and sorcery. Many witches say witch means “wise” or “Wisdom,” so a witch is a wise person, and witchcraft is the “Craft of the Wise” or more simply, “The Craft”. Wicce, however, comes from the Germanic root “wic,” which means “to bend” or “to turn” which does apply to witchcraft, in the sense that witches bend or control forces to effect changes.

Most witches throughout history have been feared and abhorred because they were believed to be vindictive, casting evil spells upon others and consorting with evil spirits. The Western concept of witches has evolved from beliefs about sorcery and magic dating back to the ancient Assryians, Babylonians, Akkadians, Hebrews, Greeks and Romans. An ancient Assyrian tablet speaks of the bewitching powers of witches, wizards, sorcerers and sorceresses. In ancient Greece and Rome, witches were renowned for their herbal knowledge, magical potions and supernatural powers. Thessaly, a region in Greece, was particularly “notorious for witchcraft” and “universally known for magic incantations,” according to Apuleius, Roman poet of the 2nd century. Thessalian witches reputedly had the power to bring the moon down from the sky. Classical witches were said to possess the Evil Eye. Pliny the Elder wrote of those who killed by looks.

Witches in the Game

Witches are not wizards. Nor are they sorcerers, clerics, druids or psychics. They are their own core class. They possess a tradition that is older than any of these other archetypes. While the game rules may be modified to allow the playability of a witch under one of these guises, the witch works the best as it’s own class, with it’s own unique style. Witches share similarities with other character classes – they also have quite a few differences. Even witches from the same coven and traditions can be very different from each other and in what they believe.

Witches and Wizards

Wizards spend a great deal of time studying and researching their spells. Witches also study spells, but they are granted some of their spells, much as clerics are. It should also be noted that some witches do keep spell books and use scrolls. Wizards join guilds or belong to wizard schools. Witches rarely join guilds; they do, however, belong to covens.

Witches and clerics

Witches and clerics have historically shared a very adversarial relationship. There is of course no reason they have to in your game. Part of the problem is witches and clerics cover much of the same ground. Witches are often referred to, both by themselves and others, as priestesses of their Patrons. One might ask, “Why is a witch needed if a cleric can perform the same function?” Witches typically view worship as a very personal matter. Her Patron may be a God or Goddess, Spirits or even the raw forces of Nature. The witch may even understate her religion.

The relationship between witches and clerics of the same God, Goddess or Patron will be determined partly by that Patron or can be decided by the GM, but generally good aligned worshipers would tend to get along better than evil. Lawfully aligned worshipers also see the value in working together more than chaotic ones.

Witches and druids

Witchcraft, the practice of witches, has much in common with the practice of druids. In many cases both are considered pagan, nature religions. Witches are very similar to druids, in their worshipping practices and in the effects of their magic and their philosophical view of the world. druids and witches though are very distinct in their philosophies and practices. Like druidism, witchcraft fosters a belief in the cycles of nature and the life-death-rebirth cycle. While ancient (historical) druids were a caste of priestly leaders, witches tend to be more individual.

A View of the Witches Religion

How does one accurately role-play a witch? To do this one must understand the culture that witches have arisen out of.

Witches are seen as practitioners of ancient religions, followers of ancient gods long ignored or presumed dead by the people and priests of their world or society, ancient powers who are fading away and been subsumed by local deities. Priests cannot serve these Ancient Ones, for these gods are not gods that can offer their own power directly to their worshippers, even if once they might have.

The modern churches and temples of all gods find such worship spiritually dangerous, for it is the worship of dead gods, the practice of calling out to gods long since vanquished and cast down, the worship of imaginary spirits or false gods performing a masquerade…at least in the eyes of the priests.

The Ancient Ones are more akin to demons, devils, elementals and spirits than they are to deities, and therefore the witch follows them for the secrets they can teach and the benefits they offer not only or merely to engage in worship and emulation.

Since these deities do not and cannot, answer the prayers of the faithful, it is often whispered that other, more infernal and deceitful powers must be behind the witch’s rituals.

Additionally, as witches are secretive about their knowledge and methods, and do not speak of their craft to those who are not of their coven, even in passing, their tight lips are seen as a sign that the witch herself recognizes her own moral impropriety, and seeks to hide it. Thus fear and mistrust arise.

Hence witches are seen as vindictive and malicious, consorts to evil spirits or those who insultingly give worship to ancient, fallen deities, worship that rightfully belongs to the current gods.

For example, the witches of Hecate claim that the goddess is simply the name for a face of the ancient Goddess, in her form as a magic-worker, and that form…that avatar…visits them to teach them ancient secrets and give them personal power. Yet the priests of Hecate proclaim these witches follow a spirit who seeks to usurp the rightful goddess of magic, for the witches practice rituals strange to the priests and learn knowledge from the goddess abandoned centuries ago by the priesthood, when they learn of it at all from the witches of Hecate– another sign that this knowledge comes not from the true goddess, and the witch’s silence an open admission of guilt on that count.

A witch is a witch and not a priest in that they strive for personal knowledge or power, not to be the channel of another’s will or to be granted special abilities solely to work their Patron’s will on the world. The witch instead seeks personal, spiritual or material fulfillment.

The relationship a witch has with their Patron is that of student to teacher, of apprentice to master; they accept guidance and knowledge from an elder, ancient being who has chosen to share such with them for whatever its own purposes are, be they benign, malignant or unknown. For example: Odin teaches his children runecraft because they are his children, to better their own destiny; a demon might teach a witch in order to use her later for its own ends.

A witch’s spells differ from a wizard’s, though they are similar. The Patron reveals what the witch needs to know to cast the spell, not the underlying workings of magic. They teach the witch how to summon the energy to cast forth spells; to shape their desires into reality and how their magic works in accordance with the laws and principles the Patron teaches, but the true science or art of magic is not their domain.

Likewise, to a witch, the relationship with their Patron is personal, based on the gathering of old, magical lore and the study of the secret powers of the universe. Each witch is thus left to her own devices and Wisdom when confronted with the divine., for a witch’s experiences with her Patron are individual and experiential, not subject to examination or approval by an order of priests or elders, nor to scriptures of the Patron’s word and desire – these are revealed unto her by the Patron alone.

Like druidic religious practices, witchcraft is primal, visceral and passionate. Rituals are unfettered by tradition and often improvisational, focusing upon drawing and experiencing the power of the divine to better the self and those the witch chooses, not in obedient service to the deity. All of this leads to misunderstanding and mistrust of witches.

Being a Witch

Unlike other classes, one does not wake up one day and decide to become a witch. Generally the prospective witch, the Initiate, will hear the Call of the Goddess at a young age. She must learn a witch Tradition and seek out a coven.

Upon entering the coven the highest-ranking witch (who, regardless of actual level is known as the High Priestess) will invite the young initiate to learn all she can from the covens’ Books of Law. Some covens require a year and a day before the initiate can fully join; only then will the new witch be taught the magic and ritual of being a witch.

If a coven is not found, then the initiate might become a Solitary. Often the Solitary may learn from an old book of a forgotten coven, or she may receive direct or indirect information from some agent like a familiar, who brings instruction directly from her Patron.

All witches follow what they believe to be the correct path. Often the Goddess influences this, but unlike clerics who pour over old scripture and text, the witch will receive their divine inspiration in a subtle, but constant manner. Witches take a more personal and direct view of their relationship with their Goddesses than normal clerics. It is not so much faith for the witch as it is experience.

One of the reasons that witches bring persecution upon themselves is because they accept no other rulers save for their Goddess and (sometimes) higher level witches. This often puts them at odds with the local rulers of state and always with their Goddess’ church.

They tend not to follow the mainstream deity of the region and show a marked disregard for the authority of petty lords and kings. In addition to this, witches often claim that witchcraft is the first and greatest form of magic, a claim that never sits well with other spellcasters, in particular powerful wizards and priests.

Despite this, witches tend to be humble rather than arrogant. Years of persecution have tempered the attitudes of most traditions. Witches just have a belief system in which they are central. A witch is often thus much more tolerant of others’ religious beliefs than the common cleric.

Karma and the Rule of Three

Most witches believe in living good lives. To this end there is the notion of Karma, or as it known to witches, the Rule of Three. Any harm, bad intent or mal purpose directed at anyone is returned on the witch, usually threefold. This is true for mundane as well as magical workings. While there is no game rule to enforce the Rule of Three, the GM is encouraged to have “bad things” happen when a witch starts to use her powers against her oaths or alignment. These should be subtle and not immediate, but never life threatening. Because of this a witch will rarely use her own magic for personal gain, such as using divination at the gambling table. Many will also do what they can to increase their levels of karma.

These all have to be kept in check with the witch’s alignment, but they should be considered on the same level as the oath a paladin takes or the rules a monk must live by.

Life Death and Rebirth

Central to the core beliefs of the witch is the idea of Life, Death and Rebirth. To the witch life is an ongoing cycle, one that can be seen in nature, the seasons and in the witch herself. This belief is so ingrained into the witch’s philosophy that it affects what magic the witch can perform.

For the most part a witch will never have access to spells that raise the dead or make powerful undead. To do so would violate this basic tenet of their beliefs and they would cease to be a witch.

Cosmology

The cosmology of the witch differs from that of the typical character. Most witches do not believe in an afterlife of eternal rewards or punishments; most witches instead believe in reincarnation. When a body dies the spirit is sent to rest for a time at a place known as the Summerlands. Once there the soul reflects on her previous life, until it is time for the soul to return to the earthly realm and begin the cycle again.

Typically a witch does not regard the Spirit Realms as important on a daily basis. She will of course know that they are important places of power where many gods, fiends and spirits reside and abodes of the afterlife. The witch deals with spirits, supernatural forces and her Goddess on a daily basis, most of her concerns will be with the realm of the living in the here and now.

GM’s Note: Because of this belief system a witch will never have access to the Divine Spell raise dead. Nor can a witch have raise dead cast upon her. The Game Master can work out the details of the Summerlands that work best for her own game universe.