Fantasy Core RPG: The Witch Part 1

FANTASY CORE RPG
(c) Jerry Harris, 2012
Published here as Open Game Content.
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The Witch

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Spell Level Limit
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	1
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	1
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+3	2
4th	+2	+1	+1	+4	2
5th	+2	+1	+1	+4	3
6th	+3	+2	+2	+5	3
7th	+3	+2	+2	+5	4
8th	+4	+2	+2	+6	4
9th	+4	+3	+3	+6	5
10th	+5	+3	+3	+7	5

Description: This is an ancient tradition, the origins of which are lost to time.  Witches gain their magical powers via a Pact with a supernatural entity.  Knowledge of this Pact is usually generational, passed down among female family members.  This arrangement only works for women.  While Witches who Coven together do not need to be related, there needs to be a familial blood bond between a teacher and a student.

● Witches are normally part of a Coven.  This association can take all sorts of forms, such as a loose band, trading spells and for mutual protection; a tripartite family affair of grandmother, mother, and daughter; or a business or cause-related group.  Individual Witches and Covens may sell their services, often in exchange for future favors.  Witches may be in the employ of individuals, communities, and cults.  Witches themselves often employ adventurers for protection or errands.

● Note: Many Witch abilities are listed here as optional.  Given the non-standard training of any given Witch, it is certainly possible that different Witches might have different powers and specialties.  The Three-Fold Law is a real Witch belief, but using that and demonic Pacts are up to you.

Hit Die: d6.

Prime Ability: Int and Wis.

Subprime Abilities: Str and Con.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Witches are proficient with daggers and darts (both often covered in some sort of poison). They do not wear armor or use shields.   

Standard Starting Gear: 5+1d10 GP, 4 useful items, spellbook, parchment, quill and ink, spell paraphernalia pouch (good for preparing 2d4 spells), dagger, 4 darts.

Pact: Unlike Wizards and some other spellcasters, Witches do not have an inborn ability that allows them to cast spells.  Through a secret rite passed down through relatives, a Witch makes a Pact with a supernatural entity which gives them the spellcasting ability.  This entity is neutral and enforces that belief with the Three-Fold Law (see below).  This entity only wants the Witch as a conduit into the physical universe, probably for some existential voyeurism.  The Witch Pact is very potent.  While other supernatural Pacts can allow ungifted people to cast certain spells, this particular Pact allows any spell to be learned, including Epic level spells that even Wizards can’t cast. 

Witches may make a Pact with an “evil” entity, but only after becoming a Witch and making a separate Pact.  (See the Selling Your Soul entry below.)  Making such a deal and having child afterward that means having a Tiefling offspring, who are all born sterile.  Thus the Witch tradition could not be passed down past their direct offspring.   

In a practical sense, while can Witches can be about as powerful as a Wizard, casting is harder for someone without the natural ability.  Thus, Witches cast spells in a more complicated process.  Given their potential power and lacking an overseeing organization (like the Wizard Council) or a Divine mission (like the Paladins), everyone tends to be somewhat leery of Witches.  Except for those serving an evil entity though, Witches are not compelled to misuse their powers.

Magic Workshop: Witches have a permanent space where they store magical components, spellbooks, and other magic-related items.  This is where they enchant and recharge their Focuses via simple magical rituals.  If the space is shared amongst a tight-knit Coven, this is also where they cast their Ceremony spells.  The Workshop is probably hidden with permanent magical and mundane alarms and traps.  A Witches’ Familiar is likely to be keeping an eye on the place when at home. 

The Three-Fold Law (Optional Rule): “And it harm none, do as ye will,” is the Witch creed.  Those words are part of their supernatural Pact and enforced in a rather potent fashion.  Any magic used directly for selfish ends that harms another or acts of unwarranted aggression are visited back upon the Witch with three-fold intensity.  This retribution is not necessarily immediate, perhaps not even entirely commiserate with the act, but knowing that you’re going to be badly punished for abusing your powers is a potent self-regulating ethical mechanism.  (I’m not providing any game rules for this.  The punishment should be poetic, but never lethal, as continued suffering is part of the penalty.)

Wizards and Paladins know this.  What they also know is that any indiscriminate punishment against Witches, allows them to “take the gloves off.”  With the frighteningly potent ability of Witches to Coven, any unwarranted retribution against individual Witches or the group as a whole could have disastrous consequences.  For now, the Council and the Elders have to live with unsanctioned magic-users practicing their craft and hoping that only a few of them go bad.  You see, there’s a small loophole to this Three-Fold rule (see below).

Selling Your Soul (Optional Rule): While the debt of evil magic use has to be paid, it doesn’t necessarily have to be paid in your lifetime.  There are demonic entities that will take on that burden for you while you live, and the price is paid in the afterlife.  All it takes is an individual with magic powers finding the right names of the entity, a blood-letting sacrifice in a magic ritual, and swearing an oath.  Suddenly, the Witch is immune to the Three-Fold law in this lifetime and can cast whatever spell they want for any reason.  You can even get favors from your patron for bringing others into their service. 

Some entities will want an actual contract (written in blood) that spells out the terms of the arrangement.  “The devil is in the details” as they say, often spelling out regular tribute (usually human sacrifices) and an expiration date for the agreement (upon which the Witch goes to their final reward, unless they can find a willing substitute to buy themselves some extra time.)

Other Witches look askance at those making such deals, but may still have reciprocal arrangements with them for spell sharing and assistance.  (A Coven for mutual defense is usually voided by a member taking a demonic Pact, unless everyone takes part.  Most Witches will not enter into a mutual defense Coven with an “evil” Witch.  They make too many enemies.)  They’ll even work together against a common threat.  It’s telling that there’s no equivalent pejorative, such as “Warlock” (oath-breaker), for such Witches, as there is for Wizards.  (Baba Yaga and Glenda the Good both have the title of “Witch.”)  The Sisterhood is strong.  “Good” (really neutral) Witches will neither help or hurt those hunting “evil” Witches unless such Witch has done them direct harm.  If there’s such a thing as a “morally ambiguous high ground,” the Witches have it staked out.

Of course, with any large society of women, there’s going to be cliques, cat-fighting, and rumor-mongering like a High School Girls’ locker room.  With the slightest pretext, they’ll go after each other with their full magical arsenal, bringing in their girlfriends if they can.  In the meantime, they snipe at their rivals and try to destroy their reputations amongst their peers and in their community.  Just like Wizards, the big egos of magic-users and their coveting of others’ magic spells ensures that most alliances are just temporary.            

Any given Witch already has tremendous potential power, and they may use those powers, without fear of supernatural retribution, against anyone who has harmed them.

Any Witch enacting a “Soul-selling” Pact, or even seeking such knowledge, is doing so ONLY for selfish and murderous reasons.  After they’ve done it, there are no ethics or morals left in the individual.  Any deal with an evil Witch is only honored by them if it is enforced by a greater power than theirs. 

Spells

A Witch begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level Wizard spells plus one 1st-level spell of the player's choice. For each point of Int bonus the Witch has, the spellbook holds one additional 1st-level spell of their choice. With each new level, Witches gain two new spells of their choice, up to the highest level they can cast, from their coven or from trading with other Witches.  New spells (including ones bought, bartered, found, and stolen) must be copied into their spellbook and practiced before being used in the field. Assume a day per spell.

Spellcasting

Witches must prepare spells before using them.  They enchant an object, a Focus, with the spell and then activate the spell with it.  Focuses can include wands, rings, amulets, and so on.  A Witch may prepare Focuses equal to ½ level (up to 5 max).  Each Focus may be charged with spells up to the Witches’ Int Bonus (4 max).  So, a 10^th level Witch may have 20 prepared spells on them at the absolute top level.  Unless permanently enchanted (see below), these Focuses are completely replaceable for the Witch and are essentially useless to anyone else.

If they are preparing Focuses at their magic workshop (or someone else’s fully stocked one), success is automatic and can be done within an hr per Focus.  Recharging a Focus in the field (assuming they have access to magic components), requires a Spellcheck: Int bonus + ½ level vs. DC 12 + Spell Level and takes 1 turn to place 1 spell on 1 Focus.  With 3 consecutive failures to recharge a Focus, all magic use is suspended pending 1 hr of rest.

To activate a prepared spell from a Focus, another Spellcheck is made, but with different stats: Wis bonus + ½ level vs. DC 10 + Spell Level is necessary to activate the spell.  (Cantrips are DC 8.)  With 3 cumulative failures in a turn/encounter, all magic use is suspended pending 1 turn of rest.  The charge in the Focus is not used until the Witch successfully activates it.

The Spell Level Limit is the highest spell level that a Witch can cast.  A spellcaster must roll to activate a spell, even if their Spell Check is greater than the spell’s DC.  A Natural 1 is a Botch, meaning all spellcasting is immediately suspended until the caster has had 1 turn of rest.  A Saving Throw against a spell has a DC of 12 + 1/2 caster level.

Individual Witches may NOT cast Ceremony spells or spells over 5^th level.  A Coven is required for all of them (See Coven section below).

Forbidden Spells (Optional Rule)

Some spells on the Spell List have been marked as Forbidden.  Typically, these would be spells summoning monsters, creating undead (Animate Dead), or spells of mass destruction. They are not taught or commonly available and should be considered rare in the extreme. 

Individual Witches may have ethical issues with casting these spells, but there is no “Witches Council” regulating such actions and nor do they recognize the Wizard Council as having any authority over them.  There’s no love lost between these groups.  (Female Wizards are often seen as sell-outs, and the Witches absolutely despise “Pixies” for obvious, petty reasons.)  The Wizard Council and Paladins will intervene against any Witch caught using Forbidden spells, but otherwise they generally leave Witches alone (because of their Coven abilities), though their disdain for openly un-regulated spellcasters is palatable.  

Witch Continued