The Path of the Witch

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Contents 1 History and Flavor Text 2 Benefits of the Path of the Witch 2.1 Growth 0 2.2 Growth 1 2.3 Growth 3 2.4 Growth 5 2.5 Growth 7

Path of the Witch

• Source: Various Sources
• Affinity: Restoration
• Attribute: Spiritual
• Effects: Arcane, Chaos, Death, Disease, Glamour, Kismet, Life, Order
• Titles: Hedge Wizard, Witch

• Favored Races: Lapix, Lutrai, Myrix
• Favored Nations: Shire Lands,

History and Flavor Text

Not a magical order in and of itself, the Path of the Witch is more a series of superstitions, folk lores, and traditions handed down over generations. No single person is responsible for this path, as it is a hegemony of different practices which have been refined for the purpose of protecting the local community. The secrets of this art are closely guarded and not lightly shared with other paths. Through trial and error, this paths hard-earned lore has granted witches the secrets of creating wards and talismans to protect against the supernatural, and while other sorcerers often publically scoff at the knowledge of a local witch, many would still wish to learn the arts perfected by this tradition.

A witch will often take two apprentices, teaching their lore in the hopes at least one of their students will become a witch and pass on their lore. Apprentices are sworn to secrecy, as the body of lore that has been gathered by the witches of this tradition could earn then many enemies knowing the secret weaknesses of monsters and mortals alike is not something to be taken lightly, and many Entities, if they were to learn that their vulnerabilities were known, would take great pains to destroy those who might have that knowledge.

Benefits of the Path of the Witch

Growth 0

• The witch may choose to call an animal companion to them as a familiar. This companion acts as a servant and guide, and is fanatically loyal to the witch. Summoning the familiar takes one hour and requires a Results Roll (Spiritual + Animal Ken), and the witch pays (Difficulty) Essence at the end of the hour, when the roll is made. The Potency of the roll creates a bonus pool which can be expended to enhance the familiar. All Merits use the familiars Growth or Might unless stated otherwise. The witch chooses an animal common to the area and whose nature suits that of the witch themselves. The animal will have the basic traits associated with a common animal of the type, and begin at Growth 1. The bonus pool is then spent to augment the animal. As the witch gains Growth, the familiar will gain bonus traits and skill points to spend.

Trait	Initial	Points	Bonuses
Attribute Points	0 + (4 x Growth)	1 Potency	1 bonus point
Size	Normal	1 Potency	+1 or 1 Size
Skill Points	0 + (10 x Growth)	1 Potency	6 bonus points
Talents	Normal	1 Potency	1 Talent
Powers	Normal	2 Potency	1 Power

• Once summoned, the witch gains a number of additional benefits from being bonded with the familiar. If the familiar dies, the witch Hero must summon a new familiar, starting over.

• Augment Magic While the familiar is within (Witchs Might) metres of the Hero, invocations are augmented. The witch gains (Familiars Growth) bonus dice on all spells and Benefits from the Path of the Witch.
• Duplicate Spell When performing an invocation with Target (Self), the witch can spend one Essence to have the spell effect duplicated upon the familiar at the same Potency.
• Telepathy The familiar and witch have an intimate bond with one another, allowing one to share their thoughts and senses with the other regardless of distance while in the same realm. The familiar immediately understands the intent and desires of the witch, as well as anything the Hero senses or feels, while the witch can only sense the thoughts, senses, and sensations the familiar sends to them.
• Share Essence The witch may spend the familiars Essence in addition to their own Essence. This is uncomfortable for the familiar. If needed, however, the Hero may grant the familiar access to their own Essence, allowing the familiar to recover. Either the familiar or Hero can draw out an amount of Essence equal to their own Might per Round.

Growth 1

• Charms of Good Fortune (5 DP, Requires Growth 1)
  • The witch may craft charms, providing various benefits to those who are fortunate enough to be wearing one. The witch spends 1 Essence to make the charm, and makes a Results Roll (Spiritual + Craft). The charm has a (Difficulty) Resource Cost, in addition to the cost of the materials which may be used to make the charm, and takes (Difficulty) hours. If the charm is made permanent, the witch must also spend (Half Potency) DP.

The witch chooses one subject in relation to the charm. What is chosen determines how the charm protects or assists the wearer. Each time the charm is invoked, it loses a point of Potency. If the charm is permanent, it recovers one Potency per sunrise. Charms are equipment, and as such can be sold, traded, lost, or stolen, and are usable by anyone.

Fortune The witch chooses one Skill, and may choose an additional Skill for every +1 Difficulty, Essence and Resource spent on crafting the charm. The charm is considered to be equipment for the Skills chosen, and provides an Equipment Bonus for those Skills even when the Charm no longer has Potency.

The charm can be invoked as a Free Action. The user gains (Potency) Additional Successes to a single roll using one of the Skills the charm was designed for. If used for Active Defence, the charm grants the psychic readings Hero the Skill at (Initial Potency) Rank to protect against the attack. The Hero may use either the rank provided or their own Skill rank, whichever is higher. The charms Potency is then reduced by one.

Luck The witch chooses either Defence, Resistance, or Resolve, and may choose one additional Trait for every +1 Difficulty, Essence, and Resource spent on crafting the charm. Each Trait must be activated individually and uses one Potency activating all three Traits spends three Potency at once.

The charm can be invoked as a Free Action. The user adds (+Potency) to a Trait the charm is capable of augmenting, for the Round. The charms Potency is then reduced by one.

Weapon The witch chooses a single Spell Effect, which does not need to be known by the witch. The charm is attached to the weapon, shield, or armour. The witch may add an additional Spell Effect for every +1 Difficulty, Essence, and Resource spent on crafting the charm.

The charm can be invoked as a Free Action when the object is struck. This may be when a weapon hits an opponent, when a weapon or shield is used for Active Defence, or when the users armour is struck. The item unleashes one Spell Effect, performing the Spell Effect the current Potency. The charms Potency is then reduced by one. Each additional Spell Effect being used requires a Free Action and one more Potency.

Growth 3

• Charms of Protection (10 DP, Requires Growth 3)
  • Crafting a charm of protection follows the same mechanics as creating and using charms of Good Fortune, but requires the expenditure of an additional point of Essence.

• Race The witch chooses a type of entity or being to ward against. For every +2 Difficulty, Essence, and Resources spent, the witch can choose an additional target. Any use of a Merit or Power by the appropriate target on the bearer of this charm loses (Potency) Successes. This charm is not activated by the bearer, but triggers immediately in response to the use of a Merit or Power of the appropriate type, then loses one Potency.
• Spell The witch chooses one Path of sorcery to protect the wearer against. For every +2 Difficulty, Essence, and Resources spent, the witch can choose an additional Path. Any Invocation or Benefit used against the bearer from the chosen Path loses (Potency) Successes. This charm is not activated by the bearer, but triggers immediately in response to the use of an Invocation or Benefit of the appropriate type, then loses one Potency.
• Thought The witch chooses one Field of psionics to protect the wearer against. For every +2 Difficulty, Essence, and Resources spent, the witch can choose an additional Field. Any Gift or Discipline used against the bearer from the chosen Field loses (Potency) Successes. This charm is not activated by the bearer, but triggers immediately in response to the use of a Gift or Discipline of the appropriate type, then loses one Potency.

Growth 5

• Minor Wards (15 DP, Requires Growth 5)
  • The witch may build wars of protection to prevent enemies from passing through. The witch spends 3 Essence to make the ward, and makes a Results Roll (Spiritual + Occultism). The ward takes (Difficulty) minutes to create and can cover an area of up to (Might) metres in radius. If the ward is made permanent, the witch must also spend (Half Potency) DP.

The witch chooses one target in relation to the ward. What is chosen determines how the ward operates. Wards are not invoked, and activate when the triggering condition is met. Each time the ward is trigged, it loses a point of Potency. If the ward is permanent, it recovers one Potency per sunrise. Regardless of Potency, a ward operates using full Potency, rather than the current Potency. Wards may be used to prevent the target from entering the warded area, or from leaving it.

• Race The witch chooses a type of entity or being to ward against. For every +3 Difficulty, Essence, and Resources spent, the witch can choose an additional target. Any use of Merits or Powers by the target upon someone on the other side of the ward have their Potency reduced by the wards full Potency. If the Merit or Powers Potency still surpasses the ward, the wards Potency is reduced by one, otherwise the ward is not breached. If the target tries to pass through the ward, but has a Might equal to or less than the wards Potency, they are repulsed. If their Might is higher than the wards, the target passes through, but suffers a (+Full Potency) Difficulty on all actions while within the ward. The wards Potency is reduced by one.
• Spell The witch chooses a Path of sorcery to ward against. For every +3 Difficulty, Essence, and Resources spent, the witch can choose an additional Path. Any use of Invocations or Benefits of the chosen Path upon someone on the other side of the ward has their Potency reduced by the wards full Potency. If the Invocation or Benefits Potency still surpasses the ward, the wards Potency is reduced by one, otherwise the ward is not breached.
• Thought The witch chooses a Field of psionics to ward against. For every +3 Difficulty, Essence, and Resources spent, the witch can choose an additional Field. Any use of Gifts or Disciplines of the chosen Field upon someone on the other side of the ward has their Potency reduced by the wards full Potency. If the Gift or Disciplines Potency still surpasses the ward, the wards Potency is reduced by one, otherwise the ward is not breached.

Race: A witch can be as specific or vague as needed for any race oriented charms or wards. Common examples of broad-range protection include divine or infernal entities, mortals (to prevent people from passing through the ward), or animals (to protect against animals). Specific people can be named, to protect the user from that specific person.

Growth 7

• Banishment (20 DP, Requires Growth 7)
  • The witch may attempt to banish an entity, returning it to its native realm. The witch must be within (Might x Occultism) metres of the target to attempt to banish it. The Hero spends a Full Round Action and makes a Results Roll (Spiritual + Occultism) and four Essence. If successful, the target loses (Potency) Essence, with any excess Potency being removed from the entitys Health. As long as the entity remains within range, the witch may continue to perform the banishment without needing to spend Essence. Once the Entity has lost all Health, they are immediately banished to their native realm, and the witch makes a new Results Roll, taking one Action. The entity is bound to their realm for (Potency) months, and any attempt to re-summon the entity during this time suffers (+Potency) Difficulty to the roll.