D&D 5E 5e witches, your preferred implementation?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Sounds to me like your asking for a general caster class called Witch that includes Wizard, Warlock, Sorcerer, Bard, and maybe even Druid as subclasses.

Nope.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Which only proves the point. 1 class in 7+ years means expecting a ton more, enough to start blurring niches and boundaries between classes, is pointless.

It doesn't prove anything. We just got new multi-class subclasses. 5E is into its crazy experimental phase. We could all be playing Marshals or Warlords by this time next year.

We're also three years away from WotC possibly doing something big for their 50th anniversary. A new core class being added to the PHB would be a great way to drive sales and mark the specialness of the event. I'd bet it'd be the Warlord before a Witch class, but it's hardly out of the question.

 

[TwoSix]

It doesn't prove anything. We just got new multi-class subclasses. 5E is into its crazy experimental phase. We could all be playing Marshals or Warlords by this time next year.

We're also three years away from WotC possibly doing something big for their 50th anniversary. A new core class being added to the PHB would be a great way to drive sales and mark the specialness of the event. I'd bet it'd be the Warlord before a Witch class, but it's hardly out of the question.

You're much more optimistic about WotC's chances of getting crazy then I am, although I concede it's certainly not impossible that we may see another class or two in the next few years.

That being said, my initial post was only about the lack of salience in bringing up official material as Crimson Longinus did, since the OP specifically asked about how to implement a witch in our personal games.

 

[Remathilis]

I like this one better than the other 5E Wizard tradition I saw. Mind if I link in my blog post?

Go ahead. It's still a little UA/WIP level though.

 

[Remathilis]

Personally, it is not for me. As a wizard subclass, they have access to a lot of spells that to me are are not "witchy" (e.g. flashy direct damage spells) and lack access to several spells that I think a witch should have from other class lists. Then again, I thought the 2e witch kit was terrible and used Mayfair's Witch's back in my 2e days

It was my intention to do a druidic "witch" class as well. Haven't gotten around to it.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Go ahead. It's still a little UA/WIP level though.

It's still better than some DM's Guild attempts I've seen. Thanks!

 

[MGibster]

As has been pointed out recently to me, there are people walking around today saying they are witches, as their religious identity.

I understand that and I do respect that. Any D&D witch bears, at best, a tenuous relationship with their modern religion. The idea of a witch is part of our cultural heritage and are fair pickings for ideas so far as I'm concerned.

Putting a cartoon Halloween pop culture witch into D&D is a lot different than saying, canonically (in this hypothetical, WotC would finally publish an actual witch class or subclass), that their religion is devil worship. One they can laugh and blow off, the other is going to create some offense.

It isn't because the D&D witch wouldn't be based on a real religion. And sorry, modern witches don't own the word any more than you or I. I'm fully comfortable using the negative interpretation of witches in my games because I'm not saying anything about real existing religions.

 

[Garthanos]

I understand that and I do respect that. Any D&D witch bears, at best, a tenuous relationship with their modern religion. The idea of a witch is part of our cultural heritage and are fair pickings for ideas so far as I'm concerned.


It isn't because the D&D witch wouldn't be based on a real religion. And sorry, modern witches don't own the word any more than you or I. I'm fully comfortable using the negative interpretation of witches in my games because I'm not saying anything about real existing religions.

That Sabrina series is considered pretty much an abomination conflating wiccan things with satan worship sigh.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

In any case, despite all the protestations on this thread, there is a very clear pop culture witch idea out there, involving pointy hats, black cats, cauldrons, flying brooms, etc. That's more of a basis for a class than 3E-5E warlocks had, and WotC was able to develop a class for them quite easily.

And it's not a niche that really exists in D&D where you can hand the Essentials Kit to a new player who wants to play one -- a situation I've personally been in, as I've been bringing in a lot of new players over the last five years and will be bringing in a handful more in the next six weeks alone -- and have them be able to do it satisfactorily.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

That Sabrina series is considered pretty much an abomination conflating wiccan things with satan worship sigh.

Great example. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (based on a horror comic) was very enjoyable for folks with no personal connection to wicca, but it's uncomfortable at best for members of that community. A D&D witch can still be identifiably a "witch" without doing that (and thereby stepping on the toes of the warlock).