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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JoeGKushner" data-source="post: 2009671" data-attributes="member: 1129">The Witch’s HandbookWritten by Steve KensonPublished by Green Ronin Publishing64 b & w pages$14.95In four chapters, Steve Kenson, the author of the Shaman’s Handbook, provides almost everything you need to know about utilizing the Witch as a core class with new prestige classes, feats, spells, and magic items.The book starts off with the Witch as a core class.  These spell users utilize arcane energies but with a restricted spell list.  They are instinctive learners much like sorcerers but don’t have the ‘flashy’ fireworks type spells, instead relying on more subtle manipulations to get the job done.  One of the things the book does well is provides information on how this class gets along with other core classes, how to use the class in Freeport, and ideas and restrictions for multi-classing.  Those interested in covens and the use of the word ‘warlock’ will get a better understanding of the terms.  As a core class, it stands on its own and is easily useable without too much muss or fuss and can probably replace the Adapt in many humanoid’s tribes.To differentiate the Witch though, a core class might not be enough for some.  Step in the Prestige Classes.  There are four PrCs suitable for sorcerers or witches, two of them evil, the Infernal and Witch Hag, one of them neutral, the Shaper, and one standard, the Witch Priestestss.  The fifth PrC is the Witch’s Champion, a very powerful fighter who gains strength from his patrons.  The PrC might actually be a little too good with bonus feats and other options but the other options usually rely on the patron being very close by so there’ll have to be some more game testing before I can say.  For the evil PrCs, the Witch Hag is the less interesting to me.  It’s a nice variation where the character actually becomes more and more like the monster, the hag, but it didn’t’ grab me.  The Infernal though, ah, the selling of your soul to an overpower for additional power.  Because Witch’s are very naturalistic, there are several new uses for old skills like Heal Tasks.  This chart can be used by anyone with the heal skill and it provides some quick DCs for standard occurrences like identifying diseases and poisons.  Knowledge skills like nature get their own list of common DCs like identifying plans and animals and predicting the weather.  The use of Herbalism as a profession is touched on with four different uses: Remedy, Healing, Poison, and Spell Component.  All in all, the skill section will be useful for those druids, shaman, and witches in any campaign.The feat section is a little weak though.  It might be because Bad Axe Games and Throwing Dice Games have made broad feats or template feats that do a lot of what I see here.  A cool named feat with two skills getting a +2 bonus.  A cool named feat with one stat substituted for another.  I realize that not everyone is going to have access to the template feat but really, just put the core mechanic somewhere and provide the examples, don’t repeat the same information over and over for Canny, Empathic, Wise Defense, Wise Evasion, and Wise Precaution; All the same type of feats with different names.  This is not to say that there are no new or useful feats.  Take Swarm Shape.  For those who have the Wild Shape ability or can cast Polymorph self, you can become a swarm of animals.  Now that’s cool.  Widen Spell doubles the area of a spell so now those fire balls can really get out of control, while Healing Trance allows you to double your rate of healing.Chapter Three, Tools of the Craft, provides new ideas on herbs and herbal preparations, ritual items, and magic items.  This is a nice short chapter that provides the goods quickly.  For magic items, there are lots of staffs, rods, masks, candles and other goods to add a little spice to the campaign.  Most useful to some though will be the table of herbal remedies, plant toxins and spell components.  With a glance you see what plants are good for poison, spells or helpful.Chapter Four, The Craft of the Wise, adapts ritual magic from SSS’s Relics and Rituals.  By having groups of people, using power components, at special times of the year, in special places, with an increased casting time, you can heighten the spell in many ways.  It’s a little complex, relying on divisions based on the classes involved, the items used, the place used, etc…, but it definitely adds to the campaign background and world building aspects of the GM.  If you want to use these rules, you’ll have to come up with a calendar, specific sites, and other goods so that you’re players can augment their power to break curses, lay down powerful enchantments and divine the future.  Chapter four closes out with the with the Witch Spell List, including several new spells, broken down by level and then listed alphabetically, and then detailed fully out.  I was a little disappointed in the number of higher level spells though.  For new classes that don’t receive a lot of support past their initial release, only having eight 7th level spells, six 8th level spells, and seven 9th level spells is not a good thing.  Many of these spells rely on charms, polymorping, or effecting one target klike Finger of Death.  The new spells like Agony, Enhance Familiar, and Enlarge Familiar, will be of use to many characters and readers will be pleased to note that not all spells are for witches alone.  I was a little surprised thought that Call the Wild Hunt, a spell that summons an elemental force with fiendish dire wolves serving it, isn’t also a druid spell.Because there are no monsters or new templates, the book ends a little sooner than the Shaman’s Handbook.  Thankfully though, they did include a Witch Addendum for their popular d20 Character Folio.Art is doen by Drew Baker, Storn Cook and Stephanie Pui-mun Law and is top notch with full-page illustrations between the chapters.  Editing is good most of the time and I only caught one minor thing while reading.  Layout is standard two column with good text to page use.  Internal covers are not used and the OGC takes up a page.For me, to get a five star rating, The Witch’s Handbook would have to have ‘more’ to it.  More unique feats instead of the same feat renamed.  More spells.  Since the class will probably receive the same amount of support the Shaman’s Handbook has (little), a proper spell list with lots of spells for all levels is vital.  How about some monsters?  Work on the perhaps some patrons or spirits?  How about some tie ins to the rich mythology of the Book of the Righteous?  Perhaps these are good servants of the goddess whose church has become so corrupted and even some of them fall pray to the lies of the devil lord and become Infernal Witches?  In short, more stuff.The Witch’s Handbook and it’s place in gaming will be measured by what you need the Witch to do and how you feel it compares against other products that offer the Witch as a core class.  For me, I’ll be stealing the ritual rules, the alchemy checks, the herbs, and of course, several of the PrCs as I compare this Witch with the Witch from Mystic Eye Games and Mongoose Publishing to determine which witch is which.</blockquote>

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