How do you prefer your WITCH?

[Plane Sailing]

I voted OTHER.

To me, druid == witch == druid

Cheers

 

[Plane Sailing]

I've been dabbling with this idea of feminine magic vs. masculine magic and think there is some merit.

My last pre-3e campaign did this: All wizards were male and only male. All druids were female and only female (and got called witches). It was a big division in magic in that world (and there were no clerics either!)

It turns out that this was an idea that Terry Pratchett used quite nicely in his discworld novels too.

 

[lukelightning]

I voted "petty magic" since that seems to be the closest to the witches that I use; the ones from Arcana Evolved (or Arcana Unearthed).

 

[Voadam]

Can refer to female spellcasters but I like the evil spellcaster connotations.

Mechanically I have Green Ronin's Witch's Handbook, Malhavok's Arcana Unearthed, the srd's wizard, sorcerer, druid, and adept classes, and the DMG witch option as potential mechanical options among others.

Hag sorceresses seem to be my first thought for witches though.

 

[diaglo]

NPC class for OD&D

 

[Plane Sailing]

NPC class for OD&D

Where was that from? I don't recall npc classes in OD&D?

 

[hamishspence]

The possession suggestion: binder??

Binder sounds like a possibility, at least, in the heavily persecuted class

Shadowcaster has a hint of witchiness "Path of Black Magic"

DMG has the "Witch" class as a sample of how to build a class: might work?

Of course, some core class variants have a LONG pedigree: most notably Enchanter. Or should it be "Enchantress"?

 

[diaglo]

Where was that from? I don't recall npc classes in OD&D?

you don't???

the druid was an NPC class originally.

 

[Lanefan]

Voted "other" to mean "no such class in my game". There's enough other ways to cover the sort of areas the game might want (e.g. hag, not-so-nice druid, etc.) that the tired old "witch" stereotypes can be left to die...and not a moment too soon...so as not to reinforce them any further in real life.

If someone held a gun to my head and told me I had to have a "witch" class, it'd be the Earth-Goddess worshipping type.


Lanefan

 

[Aeolius]

I admit that when I think of witches, the first thought that enters my mind is Baba Yaga :

Mind you, I have always had a deep respect for hags.