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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 8300000" data-attributes="member: 58172">I especially like the option of choosing the power source of any class. Not only are the styles of witch so different from each other, the theories of magic can be so different from each other. Here choosing a power source can help pick one that is correct for a concept or close enough.For example, to do a Norse Witch, meaning a Volva or Seidfolk, simply granting the Psionic tag to a Bard, is remarkably accurate. Any specific information if necessary is just a new spell or a new background. Seidr is strictly telepathic mindmagic, but the people who do it, also tend to master other shamanic traditions as well, including healing and the sight, outofbody and even shapeshifting. The psionic disciplines of Telepathy, Prescience, and "Psychometabolism" which I call Shapeshift, are central to the Norse Psionic, but Telekinesis is rare.And to do a Celtic Bard, who is similar to Volva, the Bard class is already remarkably accurate. For the Bard, I probably keep the Arcane power source in the sense that I get a strong secular vibe from the Bard, or possibly go Primal in the sense of being infused by the magic of nature. I view the Bard as Prescience (including blessing by praise and cursing by satire), Telepathy mindmagic, Shapeshift, ... and potions.And so on. If it is possible to officially swap a power source, it goes along way to get a character concept exact.Maybe like Priest is a Background, Witch could be a Background. But really because witches can be so different from each other, I doubt there could be a single Background to meaningfully unify all the concepts.I view "Primal" as animism, thus a kind of Psionic that is more attentive to the minds of landscapes, plants, and animals, but also the minds of skyey phenomena, including sun and moon and weather patterns. Generally, Psionic tag is fine, but specifying Primal can be helpful, especially for flavor. A Primal Warlock might be Primal or Psionic, and the pact itself might be some kind of personal magical transformation that occurred when the shamanic sensitivities first awoke.Divine Pairing? Wicca? Divine power source?I am less satisfied with the 5e Sorcerer. In the previous editions it was the Nonvancian mage, and in 4e and 5e it has an identity crisis. I would prefer if we had the Psion instead of the Sorcerer. Nevertheless the Sorcerer can emphasize its "bloodline" trope, and be a design space to explore Nonhuman ancestors. I havent used the Chaos archetype since it is lessso an ancestry, but maybe it could be some kind of Elemental ancestry. Various bloodlines are relevant to various witch concepts.I tend to be happy with how the Druid class handles Elemental tropes. I use the Druid to represent the more elemental aspects of nature, like Frost Thurs and Wind Jotnar. I also use the Druid with some accuracy for various Alchemist traditions. I view the reallife Druid as a priestly caste, having a worldview that is simultaneously polytheistic and protoscientific, perhaps with no distinction between the two. If I remember correctly, a report says they can take a priestly vow to not fight by weapons but to fight by magic. Generally, Celtic magic is dreamlike experiences with vivid symbolic imagery. I suspect all the traditions of complex and convoluted potion ingredients comes from the Celts and perhaps specifically from Druid sacred traditions.If a Warlock makes an Elemental pact, I am unsure what that might look like. But it would be easy and balanced to modify the Eldritch Blast to whatever damage type is appropriate to the Elemental concept.I enjoy your comments about the history of various witch traditions. I know various indigenous cultures getting demonized as "witches" has inflicted much suffering. But I tend to not focus on the tribulations. I am more excited about how amazing these ancient cultures are, and hope they continue to survive. It is impossible to avoid evolving, but I hope each culture can maintain authentic continuity with ones unique heritage.When it comes to Merlin and Morgan, I view them as a blend of reallife persons and concepts. I focus on how the narratives were moreorless plausible to the writers and the audiences who read about them, thus describe reallife worldviews of the period.Regarding the archetypes of Merlin and Morgan. I view Merlin as a Bard, and it is almost that simple. A Bard can also be a political advisor and even, potentially, a military leader.Regarding Morgan, "le Fay" says it all. I view her as a spirit of fate, the kind that personifies magic itself, and specifically what came to be identified as an "Elf". Albeit, she is the British version of Elf that synthesizes the Celtic Sidhe land spirit and the Frankish Faie personifying fate and magic. Merlin himself is probably a Half-Elf, where his "incubus" father is almost certainly the shamanic Elf that relates to the Scot witch tradition.I view both Morgan and the father of Merlin as animistic land spirits.Using the classes to handle the thematic mechanics, but then allowing one swap the power source, helps to approximate certain concepts. A power source is a tag. Mostly, the tag has no mechanics in and of itself, but other mechanics might refer to it. However, for me, Psionic spellcasting is innate, and always lacks spell components.A Background might help. I use one for a Norse warrior mage, to make sure certain spells known are available (generally equivalent to the Abjuration school) are available to a spellcaster class.Strixhaven opens up a new design space, where certain witch concepts might work as an archetype that several classes can share.</blockquote>

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