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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2009415" data-attributes="member: 9860">This is not a playtest review.The Quintessential Witch is the eighth in Mongoose's class books, this one being a 'new' class developed from the witch example put forward in the 'Modifying Character Classes section in Core Rulebook II (p.26).Its $19.95 for a 128-page book, fairly average. Space usage in terms of margin, font, and space are all average, though only two pages are taken up with contents, credits, and OGL. The cover is similar to the rest of the series with a fake red vellum effect. The internal mono art is average to good, with most being above average. Note that there are several semi-naked torsoes in this product. Writing style and editing are good, though not perfect.After a brief introduction, the new class of Witch is presented. The witch class is presented as a cross between, a wizard, druid, and cleric. Though a divine spellcaster (via his deities, the Lord and Lady or God and Goddess) many of his spells are similar to arcane spells, and his class features are similar to that of a druid. The witch uses Charisma as a spellcasting base ability, has a d6 hit die, casts spells much like a wizard, can gain a familiar, has some druid-like class features - nature sense, wild shape and timeless body, plus other class features such as alter self, fascination and longevity as well as bonus item creation feats. The witch has her own spell list which includes a mixture of arcane-like and divine spells, plus some new spells detailed later in the book. There follows a discussion on the witch's role in society and advice on placing a witch in town generation or a previously existing town.Next up there are some character concepts, role-playing templates with some minor game-related bonuses and penalties attached:* Envoy - diplomatic witch* Gardener - plant expert* Enigma - chaotic trafficker with fiends* Pagan - woodsy witch* Black Witch - traditional evil witch with a fiendish familiar* Fugitive - never expected the Spanish Inquisition* Peasant - superstitious local witch* Healer - pacifist healing specialist* Savage - barbaric shaman* Erudite Practitioner - irreligious ritualist* Counsellor - political adviserEach concept comes armed with information on adventuring, role-playing and the aforementioned bonuses and penalties.Twelve 5-level prestige classes are then described:* Avenger - seeker of vengeance with a fighter BAB and abilities to help him track down his enemy.* Caller To The Veil - manipulates fiendish outsiders and gains fiendish familiars.* Diabolist - not, as its name suggests, a trafficker with devils, but rather a master of symbols and true names.* Gypsy Matron - gypsy-like class features such as interpret cards, evil eye, hex, farsight, and curse.* Medium - channels spirits of the dead through body and can enter spirit world.* Occultist - specialises in forbidden lore including Knowledge domain access.* Patron Of The Five Spirits - elementalist, min. 15th level entry requirement.* Priestess Of The Divine - dedicated to the worship of the Lod and Lady, fairly traditional wiccan feel.* Puppet Mistress - charismatic leader of spy or cult network with charming gaze* Vamp - evil seductress using feminine wiles to gain power and influence.* Witch Doctor - non-human barbaric necromantic shaman with ability to create living creatures who look and act like zombies. The Living Death template is given to reflect these creatures, plus he can improve zombies.* Witch Hunter - as the name suggests, hunts witches. Twist is, he is an ex-Witch blinded by hatred.Several skills are discussed - some new rules for Alchemy focusing on the witches more naturalistic bent, Craft (various witchy items), Knowledge (several new skill subsets - Rites, Chiromancy (Palmreading), Numerology (divination through numbers), and Astrology). There are also rules for Profession (Herbalist). Al the former new skill rules are brief and basic. The section spends more time and goes into afair amount of detail on the new skill of Profession (Fortune Teller). Details of tarot layouts and definitions of cards are given, so that a real pack of normal cards could be used in-game if no tarot cards are available.27 new feats are offered including Build Spell Area (like contingency but on objects), ceremonial casting (allows witches to participate in coven rites), ominous chant (frighten others with chanting), seasonal magic (magic power is greater at different times of year), 7th Child of a 7th Child (Witch class becomes second favoured class), and Tap Monolith (meditating before a standing stone helps regain small amount of spells quickly).There is an 8-page section on herbs, with various real-world and fantasy examples, each with a DC for Wilderness Lore or Knowledge (Nature) DCs to find, and a Profession (Herbalist) DC to unlock the powers of the plant along with the relevant power description. There are also suggested modifiers for season, and time spent searching to the avilability check. The section goes on to describe more mundane witchy items, like tarot cards, athame (divine dagger for use in rituals), book of shadows (spellbook), broom, cauldron, and crystal ball, amongst others. Four new weapons are also given, three knives and a sword.26 new spells are introduced for a Witch's Book Of Shadows. Spells range from Level 1 (e.g. Fey Sight (gives/extends low-light vision) to 9th level (e.g. Wrath Of Nature, which causes sudden severe weather conditions and summons elementals), though most of the spells tend to be relatively high (6-9th level).The next section deals with the rites and ceremonies of witches, where a coven of witches pool their magical power at a sacred site to perform a lengthy ritual or ceremony. These gatherings are used to perform three major tasks - Item Creation (there is also an alternative method of sacrificing XP for gold costs during this ritual), Spell Heightening (up to 10 levels higher, but witches may take subdual damage), and Ceremonies. Ceremonies include standard initiation, marriage, burial, and seasonal rites but also some have game effects (such as calling a demon to perform a task in return for a human sacrifice).Several magic items are detailed from witch-blight weapons to fey potions, rods that enhance metamagic feats, and various wondrous items including magical candles, legendary cauldrons, and tomes that enable readers to make untrained Knowledge checks by referencing the information within.A section entitled Places Of Power, gives a system for ley lines, magical paths of power which connect two locations. These paths (and particularly the locations where they cross) boost spells of the Earth domain and give bonuses to creatures with the Earth sub-type. Where these paths are broken, earth spells do not function and earth subtype creatures take damage. Various ideas for ley origin points are given, such as faerie rings, cairns, lake islands and such like, with ideas for the unique magical powers that these places are imbued with. Further information is given on creating these powerful ley origin points, with a set of specialised item creation rules requiring feats, XP costs, and limits on the powers that can be imbued into the area. Over 50 examples of such powers are given, including Fey (+1 to all Enchantment spells) and Living (healing spells are maximised). Two more detailed examples of these places of power are given - a monolith with a tragic story behind it, and a sacred pool which enhances divinations.Next up is some information on seasonal magic. Game effects dependent on the phases of the moon and sabbats (Celtic-style holy days) for witches are given. Further details on Covens are then given, with rules on forming a Coven, using a feat similar to that used by Leadership. Further information is given on joining a coven, the benefits, and starting your own coven. A High Secret Order of witches is also described, as well as covensteads (the area of land around the centre for the covens worshipping marked by crude statues) and cowans (non-witches dedicated to the protection of the coven, specifically because each member of the cowan goes through a bonding ritual with one witch in the coven).The last few pages include notes by the designer (where it is re-iterated that the quintessential guides offer extensions to the existing d20 rules rather than significantly changing them), an index, four pages of rules summaries, and a four-page character sheet.Conclusion:Though proper playtesting would be required, the witch class seems fairly balanced with other spellcasting classes, though I was a little disappointed that several of the class features were borrowed from other classes. The character concepts, though bordering on ties with other classes, are all well detailed and provide good ideas for basic roleplaying foci. I found the prestige classes a bit hit and miss, and again bordered on some other PC classes, but several of them were excellent. I particularly enjoyed the section on herbs, which had a nice simple mechanic for finding and using plants, though again I was disappointed to find no game-related terrain rules for availability. The spells section was a little hit and miss too, with some superb atmospheric spells and some which were just slightly more powerful versions of standard spells. The rites and ceremonies section I found the best since the rules here reflected my conception of a witch and witches covens. The ley lines and ley origins were an interesting concept but I felt a bit concerned about allowing players to start creating these places - definitely one to be wary of; I may well use the concept but not allow PCs to create them. The Seasonal Magic section was atmospheric and appropriate, though having to keep track of lunar phases may not be up every player or GM's street. The coven rules round out the information within the rest of the book, and you do feel like you've got a well-rounded and detailed concept here. Not perfect, and sometimes lacking in originality (perhaps restricted somewhat by the attempt to keep close to the basic ruleset), but a worthwhile purchase nonetheless if the character concept appeals, either as a player or a GM.</blockquote>

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