The Witch

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The Witch
« on: September 22, 2010, 04:02:12 PM »
In every lock of hair, every furtive glance, every secret note that transfers hands during history class - there is an invitation. An invitation to be fucked with. Not that witchcraft is about fucking with others, but it's hard not to notice how utterly manipulable the world is.

Of course, a good witch like you knows restraint. A good witch turns a blind eye to all those invitations, and doesn't think about how sweet vengeance and control might be. A good witch is above that sort of thing. At least, most of the time.


Look

lithe, guarded, coy, edgy, brooding

calculating eyes, sinister eyes, playful eyes, smirking eyes, deep eyes

vodoun, wiccan, shamanic, dabbler, born gifted, awoken

Stats

Hot +1, Cold +0, Steady +1, Volatile -1, Dark +2
Hot +0, Cold +1, Steady +1, Volatile -1, Dark +2
Hot +2, Cold -1, Steady +0, Volatile  -1, Dark +2
Hot +0, Cold -1, Steady +1, Volatile +1, Dark +2

Basic Moves

You get all the basic moves.

Witch Moves

You automatically get these:

Sympathetic Tokens
You gain power from items representative of a person - a lock of hair, their diary, a shirt they wore in gym class. People won't normally just give you these things - you'll need to steal them, or manipulate people into giving you them.

Every Sympathetic Token counts as a String.

Hex-Caster
You can cast powerful hexes on people. The most common way is to obtain a sympathetic token, and then expend it during a ritual casting - bubbling cauldrons, burning candles, buried symbols and that sort of thing. The second way is by meeting the person's gaze, and chanting at them in tongues. Since they are right there, no sympathetic token is needed. Hexes almost always wear off after a while.

Roll +dark. On a 10+, the hex works great, and can easily be reversed when you want to reverse it. On a 7-9, the hex works, but choose 1: the casting requires a blood offering of 1 harm, the hex has unexpected side effects, trigger your Darkest Self.

You start the game knowing 3 hexes.

And choose one:

Transgressive Magic
When your ritual transgresses your community's standards of morality or sexuality, take +1 forward on your roll.

Charm
Gain +1 Hot (to a maximum of 3).

Coven
You belong to a coven. One of them doesn't like you. When you want the coven to help you with a hex, roll +hot. On a 10+, choose 3. On a 7-9, choose 2: they do it, you don't have to get mean about it, the mean one doesn't get a string on you, you don't have to help any of them with their hexes.

Hexes

Wither
The person loses all their hair, or their teeth start rotting and falling out, or their period comes now and it comes by the bucket, or their skin gets all sickly yellow and spotty. Whatever the specifics, it's bad.

Ring of Lies
Whenever the person attempts to lie, they begin to hear a piercing ringing noise. Big lies will often make their knees buckle and disorient them. Severe lies can cause harm and even brain damage.

Juxtapose
Two people (other than yourself) switch the number of Strings they have against one another. You'll need a sympathetic token for each, or to chant at both of them.

Illusions
Pick one: snakes and bugs, demonic visages, flashbacks, nonexistent subtext. The hexed sees that thing everywhere. You have no control over the exact images or iterations.

Binding
The person cannot harm others.

Sex Move
After sex, you can take a Sympathetic Token from them. They know about it, and it's cool.

Darkest Self

You hex anyone who slights you. All of your hexes have unexpected side effects, and are more effective than you are comfortable with. To reverse a hex requires that you try to hold it together, if the hex is even reversible at this point. To escape your Darkest Self, you must make peace with the one you have hurt the most.
« Last Edit: September 30, 2010, 06:38:56 PM by mcdaldno »

Re: The Witch
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2010, 07:17:56 PM »
I like it!

Transgressive magic is hot. It makes me think of taboos and rituals -- maybe a Witch is forbidden to do a certain thing or risk nullifying her power.

Re: The Witch
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2010, 07:41:38 PM »
My only teensy quibble is that "Virility" specifically means "manliness", and so seems like not the best word for hotness for either sex. Hmmm, maybe "Unnatural Lust Transfixion"? Oh wait :)

Seriously, though, maybe "Dark Allure" or "Sensuality Charm" or something? Virility does sound cool and tap into a feeling of raw sexual allure due to *power* of some sort, I'm just trying to think of the right word to convey that for the ladies as well as the guys.

Re: The Witch
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2010, 08:09:22 PM »
Thanks, Jeff.

I didn't even realize that virility meant "masculine health and power." I had only ever understood it to mean... health and power.

So, rad. Dark Allure might be what I go with, though I do like "X Spell", and "Allure Spell" sounds hokey and lame.

Want Spell
Vivacity
Vivacity Spell
Brilliance
Charm

Oh! Maybe just Charm.

Re: The Witch
« Reply #4 on: September 24, 2010, 05:19:29 AM »

This is kind of covered by the sex move, but the part about how you need to steal sympathetic tokens for it to count didn't make a lot of sense to me -- I think there's lots of room in witchy stories for unsuspecting victims to just up and give the witch the thing she needs (kind of like using your true name in everyday speech -- madness!) Also of course you can manipulate someone to get it, right? This is probably just a rephrasing thing -- I think making the point that this will more often than not require some kind of roll is good, but stealing-only not as much.

I'm with John on Transgressive Magic -- love that one. And the selection of hexes seems spot-on as well.

Re: The Witch
« Reply #5 on: September 24, 2010, 01:52:45 PM »
Thanks, Daniel.

The reason that I said it must be stolen is because otherwise The Witch can gain strings on people too quickly, too easily.

You're right though, it'd be better to abstract that to "the witch needs to steal the token, or manipulate the person into giving it to them - either way, a roll should be involved."

Re: The Witch
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2011, 08:17:56 PM »
I think the Coven move is great, because it introduces a cluster of potentially nasty NPCs in the game who are tightly tied into the Witch's story.

But when I looked at it again, I wondered: is there enough positive stuff that comes out of this move? Can this move give the Witch more mechanical advantages or fictional incentives? At the moment, as a player, I can't see any particular reason to take it (aside from the introducing of NPCs).


Quote
Coven
You belong to a coven. One of them doesn't like you. When you want the coven to help you with a hex, roll +hot. On a 10+, choose 3. On a 7-9, choose 2: they do it, you don't have to get mean about it, the mean one doesn't get a string on you, you don't have to help any of them with their hexes.

*

Ariel

  • 330
Re: The Witch
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2011, 01:27:30 AM »
I read it as if they help me then one of them can go to the trouble of getting a token, taking the +1harm, getting fucked up, missing class, whatever. I feel like it's a way to shift the consequences of her actions onto her friends. What a bitch.

With is probably what Joe was going for, IMHO.

Re: The Witch
« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2011, 07:12:34 PM »
Very old topic, I know, sorry.

I have a question about Illusions

Does the witch pick a type when she casts the hex, or when she chooses the hex in character creation?

Re: The Witch
« Reply #9 on: October 17, 2011, 10:57:04 PM »
Mr. Mario, The Witch chooses which type whenever the hex is cast.

There's a new edition coming very soon, btw. The pre-final edition.