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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gadget" data-source="post: 8175886" data-attributes="member: 23716">One of the problems is that the term "witch," perhaps more so than any other D&D class (or at least just as much), is a title well known by the general populace, with slightly different meanings and attendant cultural baggage.  Are you looking for a cackling, cauldron brewing and broomstick riding type?  Trying to eat Hansel & Gretel?  There has been a tendency in some fantasy quarters to associate the title with some form of black magic, with the Tolkien's Witch King and such as well.  Probably covered by the MM Hag types better, a little too much baggage for a PC.  Despite the relatively recent addition of the darker themed Warlock class to D&D, the designers have taken pains to not burden PCs overmuch with this baggage in play.  Then of course there's the Harry Potter "female wizard" niche.  Want a hedge mage that crafts love potions and does some spells on the side?  A Druid with a hermit background does this alright, along with the many shaman type classes/sub-classes that have come up over the years.  As to the spell caster who largely debuffs, curses and such, it seems to me that in order to do this, you have to create some thing that is not only thematic, but a class/sub-class that is a viable adventuring PC across all levels of play:  we've seen the old "just choose spells that fit your theme" argument before, though.  It may not be very satisfying, but it is an option.  Personally, it seems to me that PCs will choose the best spells available to them as the situation and circumstances dictate.   Someone up thread mentioned that surely they could do a Witch sub-class rather than something as esoteric and off-the-wall as a Wild Magic Barbarian, and I would tend to agree, with one caveat:  the Barbarian is already a well established class with devotees playing it and I'm sure WOTC feels obligated to produce some amount of new sub-classes for it.  Though I would say a witch-themed barbarian is at least as viable as a Wild Magic themed one.  I will admit that the Barbarian class is not where most of us would choose to start designing witch sub-classes though.  Personally, I think a re-flavored chain-pact warlock could do the trick, especially if you re-flavor Eldritch Blast as an "Evil Eye" type power with the same mechanics.  If the dearth of Warlock spell slots is a problem, and I agree that the invocations that require a Warlock spell slot are a bit much, then a re-flavored Bard, Druid, or Wizard could do.  WOTC could also go psionics route and try to create a witch themed sub-class for multiple classes, but each of them would probably have to contend with more cultural baggage than most other sub-classes due to the witch moniker.  This is added to by the possibility of of Neo-pagon and other groups being offended as well.</blockquote>

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