The Witch

By Awful Good Games with minor adaptations by Sage1029

It is a little known secret that there is magic in everything, from plants to stones, to metals and animals. Names carry power, and in certain times and places it swells and coils upon itself, forming a wellspring of raw, untapped magical energy. Some learn these secrets after ceremonial induction, others through extensive instruction and trial, while the more desperate or greedy find that there is no shortage of dark entities willing to help them shortcut the process. For a price, of course.

The how matters less than the results: through your work, words, and will you gather, bind, and temper magical forces in accordance to your desires, good or ill. You can brew a concoction to heal someone just as easily as one to alter a man’s shape or desires. You can forge a talisman either to shield someone from harm, or draw ill fortune to them like a moth to a flame.

Of course you are not helpless without time and safety: with a few words you can make someone’s eyes bleed, cause even the most faithful and tame of beasts to turn on them, prevent them from speaking, or vermin to crawl forth from their screaming mouths. There is a reason others regard you with equal measure of fear and respect.

Building a Witch

Pick your Race

Dwarf

A child of the mountains, when you perform a Divination within the bowels of the earth, gain Advantage

Elf

Your elvish memory is immaculate - you have no need to flip through your spellbook when using Thaumaturgy so long as you occasionally flip through it to refresh your memory

Halfling

Skilled in the art of herbs and crops, when you use Apothecary, you can choose to create a Healing Salve (1-LOAD, Slow, Heals b2d10)

Human

Always the clever and deceitful race, you may choose to roll +INT instead of +CHA when you Hex someone

How you Learned your Magic

Coven

You are a member of a group of witches who are generally willing to help each other (or at least not hurt each others). When you Parley with a member of your coven for aid, gain Advantage. When you use Thaumaturgy with the support of one or more coven members, the GM will choose to reduce or eliminate one of the requirements.

Deal with the Devil

You gained power at a price. Who, or what, was it? What does it require in exchange? Either to continue your tutelage or keep tabs on you, you start with a Familiar.

Tutelage

You are the child of another witch or studied closely under one, and benefit greatly from their experience. When you examine a potion for a few minutes, you know exactly what it will do, and you gain Advantage when you Spout Lore about herbs and plants.

Starting Moves

Your Witch starts with 25-COIN and your Book of Spells (describe it). Your Damage Die is d4. You start with all these moves:

Divination

When you spend a few minutes performing a divination, describe what it looks like, ask the GM a question, and roll:

• with Advantage if you only want a yes or no response
• with Advantage if you have something that belonged to the person, place, or thing

✴On a 7+, the GM will answer your question and you take Advantage when acting on the answer. ✴On a 10+, you can ask the GM a followup question.

Hex

When you utter a curse upon a nearby living creature, roll +CHA. ✴On a 10+, you afflict them with a curse until the next sunrise. ✴On a 7-9, you also choose one:

• You or an ally suffers the affects of the curse in some way - the GM will tell you who and how
• It ends when you curse someone else
• It can be ended by fulfilling a fairly easy condition - tell them what they must do

Apothecary

When you have time to gather materials and a safe place to work, you can make up to three of the following items for free. They each take 1-LOAD:

• Poultices and Herbs
• Antitoxin

Thaumaturgy

When you flip through your spellbook for a magical effect or directions for crafting a magical item, tell the GM what you want to do or create, and the GM will tell you:

• What you will need
• How long it will take
• How long the spell or effects of the magic item will last
• Any restrictions or limitations (specific time or place, must be used or activated in a specific way, etc)

Advanced Moves

Levels 2-5

When you gain a level from 2-5, and you choose to take an Advanced Move, you may choose from these moves:

Alternative Medicine

When you Make Camp, one creature or ally regains an additional 1d6 HP and gains Advantage the following day.

Aruspicina

When you study the entrails of a recently slain creature, gain Advantage to use Divination.

Blood Magic

When you have a creature's blood, gain Advantage to work your magic on them. If you choose to take a debility when using Thaumaturgy, choose one:

• It will require less
• It will not take as long
• The effects will last longer, or be more powerful than expected

Familiar

You have a familiar that provides you with advice and information. Describe what it looks like, its personality, and how you got it. Gain Advantage to Spout Lore, and ✴on a 6-, your familiar will seek out the answer in exchange for some of your blood: take 1d4 damage (Ignores-Armor). If your familiar dies, you can summon, craft, or bind a new one using Thaumaturgy.

Harmful Hex

When you utter a curse upon a living creature, if it afflicts them with agony in some manner you can also deal your damage to them (Ignores-Armor).

Herbalism

When you Undertake a Perilous Journey through the wilderness, the next time you Make Camp, you can use the Apothecary move.

Necromancy

When you consult the spirits of the dead, roll +CHA. ✴On a 10+, the spirit will answer three questions for you about something they know or the immediate area. ✴On a 7-9, the spirit answers two questions. ✴On a 6-, the spirit answers one question but will seek to do you harm later.

Poppet Master

When you use a poppet, it gains the Far tag and you deal +1d4 damage. You are able to create poppets in your downtime between missions.

Skinchanger

When you spend a few minutes changing your shape into that of an animal, you gain the features and limitations of it until sunrise or you change back.

Weather-Worker

When you spend a few minutes to stir up a storm, roll +CHA. ✴On a 10+, hold 3-Storm. ✴On a 7-9, hold 2-Storm. ✴On a 6-, hold 1-Storm in addition to whatever else the GM tells you. Spend Storm, one for one to:

• Deal your damage to a nearby creature
• Negate damage from a ranged attack
• Hinder an enemy - you or an ally gains Advantage against it

Levels 6 Onwards

When you gain a level from 6 onwards, and you choose to take an Advanced Move, you may choose from these moves, or the Levels 2-5 Moves.

Blinding Sleet

Requires: Weather-Worker
When you stir up a storm, you may spend 1-Storm to blind enemies in the area for a few moments.

Brewmaster

Requires: Herbalism
When you brew a potion, the effects of the potion are enhanced in some way - the GM will tell you how.

Evil Eye

You can use your Hex on any creature you can see.

Formsculpting Hex

Requires: Skinchanger
When you use your Hex on a living creature, you can transform it into an animal that is man-sized or smaller. While a creature is transformed by your curse, you take ongoing Disadvantage when working your magic.

Killing Curse

Requires: Harmful Hex
When you utter a curse upon a living creature, ✴on a 12+, you can choose to have the target take +1d4 damage from each attack and be unable to heal until the sun rises.

Moment of Foresight

You notice the omens and signs of fate and destiny everywhere when you Discern Realities. ✴On a 10+, you can ask the GM any one question you wish instead of the normal number of questions from the list.

Poppeteer

Requires: Poppet Master
When you kill someone using a poppet, you can animate their corpse to fight for you.

Potent Hex

When you utter a curse upon a living creature, the effects of the curse are much more severe, and you or an ally takes Advantage against the target.

Soul Power

Requires: Blood Magic
When you kill a creature, gain Advantage to your next Hex. if you sacrifice one or more intelligent creatures when using Thaumaturgy, choose two:

• It will require less
• It will not take as long
• The effects will last longer, or be more powerful than expected
• You can do it anywhere or at any time

You'll Feel a Little Prick

Requires: Alternative Medicine
When you Make Camp, one creature gains Advantage the following day. In addition, that creature either regains +2d6 HP or removes one debility.

Death Move: Bitterest Curse

Your untimely death brings only misery, bitterness and recriminations. When you die, say aloud a curse against a land, a people, or an individual. Describe the nature of the curse, whether it is drought, famine, war, or a curse that turns them into a monster, something that causes suffering and uncertainty. You may also describe the condition under which the curse can be lifted, such as the ruling family’s removal from power or death, the righting of a wrong, etc.

Credits

Witch playbook by Awful Good Games. The text of The Witch is released under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/]Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. The Death Move is from Boldly Games' Grim World.