Witchcraft¶
Contested
Named in the open question Witchcraft's place; Mithis metals: the newest treatise files the witchcrafts under Alchemy, the Sancturi witchcraft overview calls witchcraft a branch of Elder Magic.
"Witchcraft covers a broad range of abilities and skills relating to Devils, Demons and Hollows." — Witchcraft Overview (S213)
Witchcraft is the alchemy of corruption. Witches harvest tainted and demonic materials, combine them into charms, drams, curses and concoctions, and deal with devils and demons for what their reagents cannot give. Its three branches are Aegic witchcraft, the "white" craft of wards and talismans; Malefica, the craft of curses, familiars and summoning; and Aphotic, the craft of blood, black magic and the Sight. The craft grew with the Hollows, and in the Fifth Age it is the commonest magic of the Sancturi lands and the one most hunted.
What a witch is¶
The Sancturi notes give the craft its learned name. "Witchcraft - (common) - Malusimul (Mal-us-E-mool : scholarly) - witches harvest tainted materials and combine them to produce magical effects. They are a Malum alchemist. Often, in addition to their alchemy, they work with devils or demons, doing summoning and exchanges" (S132). The Fifth Age notes put it the same way: "Witches (Alchemist) - essentially demonic alchemists; witches gather reagents and empower their creations using the principles of demonic sacrifice" (S014). The newest treatise files the craft among the alchemy focuses, as "the creation of magical effects from Abyssal (demonic) reagents" (S208); the Alchemy page describes that family.
A witch's reagents are corruptions of ordinary things. The overview names them: "Element - An elemental substance corrupted with Abyssal energies. Somatic - A substance with associated lifeforce that has been corrupted with Abyssal energies. Spirit - A substance with an associated corrupted soul. Abyss - A pure abyssal substance which has been acclimated and is now stable on the material plane. Source - A mithis object that produces Hollowing effects. Not consumed, but dangerous to handle and rare. Target - A substance with lifeforce; a part of, or related to, the intended target of a Hex, Charm or Curse" (S213). Many of them are described under Reagents and Herbs.
Daemiveus and Abyssal witches¶
"There are 2 kinds of witches: Daemiveus witches (these work with the Devils that control the Hollow). Abyssal witches (these kill the Devils and work with Demons)" (S132, S146, S325). The difference matters to the Devils who rule a Hollow: "Powerful witches can facilitate the passage of normal demons, but this incurs the wrath of any Devils associated to the Hollow (normally the witch would kill these first)", and a Hollow so turned becomes an Abyssal Hollow outside the influence of Asmodeus, through which demons pass unconfined (S132).
Where witches live¶
Witches know the Hollows better than anyone. "The effect of the Hollowing is not well understood by most. A few Witches and Witch hunters are the most reliable experts because of their first hand experiences" (S126). They keep their distance: Hollowlocks "often try to live in non-Hollowing areas of the Hollow, while Witches live well outside the Hollow, but close enough to gather reagents when they need them" (S126). "Most witch hunters and witches mistake the boundaries of Hollowing effects for the boundaries of the Hollow" (S126).
Aegic Witchcraft¶
"Most consider this White Witchcraft" (S213). The Aegic witch works protection: circles, wards and drams, talismans and charms (S213). Its signature gift is Multi-spiritualism, which "allows the Aegic witch to have more active Charms and Talismans on themselves than an ordinary individual" (S212).
- Circles and barriers. "The Aegic Witch is able to construct circles on various surfaces using enchanted salts with protective and abjurative qualities." A barrier is "a hard invisible wall against certain types of objects, attacks or creatures", one-way or two-way; a circle "is not a physical barrier but grants benefits to all those standing in it" (S216).
- Wards and drams. "The Aegic Witch is able to construct Wards and brew potent teas and drams from both Corporeal and Empyrean Reagents." Drams are "very small amounts of liquid, usually taken as a shot or combined with alcohol or other strong drink to make it go down easier", and every one is unpleasant in its own way: Putrid drams "thick, sticky and smell like rotten flesh", Foul ones "spiritually disturbing", Vile ones "thin, light and oily", Rotten ones "heavy, sickly sweet and creamy with chunks" (S215).
- Charms and talismans. Talismans "are much weaker constructs with limited spiritual energies that deplete rapidly when put to use. They take a full turn to activate it with an uttered Abyssal Incantation"; charms "are powerful constructs with considerable spiritual energies" with lasting effects that "can be easily detected by those that can detect those energies" (S214). "Talisman and Charm recipes are learned and passed from witch to witch. To learn a recipe, the Aegic Witch needs to have a book or tutor" (S214). Their purposes are protective: against hollowing, spirits, undead and demons, and for luck and sight (S214). The overview adds bottled workings, among them Witch's Mist, which "forms a dense mist, which those wearing a Talisman of Sight can see through without penalty", and others that disrupt Hollowed or divine spellcasting (S213).
The Aegic craft also has a ritual "which can force the witch to remove the curse" laid by a Malefic witch (S227).
The Hollowsong¶
A rare Aegic talent: "the ability to shape and communicate with the wild parts of the Hollow with singing. This is a rare talent and songs must be taught and generally only affect certain classes of hollows. These songs are not capable of overriding the direct command/direction from a Hollowlord. Witches have been known to use the Hollowsong to calm beasts of the Hollow and transform difficult terrain into something more favorable to them" (S213).
Malefica Witchcraft¶
"Dark Witchcraft" (S213). "The Maleficus Witch is a master with curses, effigies and summoning. They are also able to bond themselves with dark spirits" (S212). The craft requires a demonic pact and "the ability to understand, speak and read/write Abyssal" (S213).
- Curses and hexes. "Curses are very powerful and used with caution. A curse uses a part of the witches soul ... They are notoriously difficult to remove and usually require the witch that cast them to rescind them." Besides the witch's own word, a curse can be lifted by "a small miracle", by the Aegic ritual, or by Soul Death: "When a creature's soul departs its body, the curse evaporates" (S227). "Because it uses part of the witch's soul, it also becomes a means to find the witch. Witches use curses for two purposes generally: one is against someone who has done them truly great harm and they wish them to be cursed forever. The second is to force/blackmail individuals into performing some task in order to become uncursed" (S227). "Hexes are much weaker curses that usually have a quite short duration, though some powerful Hexes may last weeks, months or years" (S227). The greatest of the curse lists is the Curse of Deadly Sins, all seven sin curses at once; among the hexes is The Witch's Eye, by which "the witch can see and hear through the target" (S227).
- Familiars. "The Malefica Witch is able to replace the spirit of a ordinary animal with a demonic spirit. This spirit helps to mentor the witch", and it "grows stronger as the witch does" (S212). The bond is the Spirit Bond (S228, S208).
- Summoning and fetishes. The craft summons and binds devils and demons in a pentagram and strikes Demonic Contracts that "charm/convince a demon into performing services for you" (S229); it makes idols, fetishes and dolls, among them fetishes that spread fear or disease to whoever destroys them and one that "extends or limits the area of a Hollow" (S229). Summoning in general is described under Demonic Magic.
Aphotic Witchcraft¶
Also "considered Dark Witchcraft" (S213). "The Aphotic witch is a practitioner of Black magic that can produce dark concoctions and trades with demons for magical spells. They can infuse themselves with an extra sensory perception known as The Sight" (S208).
- Blood alchemy and magic. "Magical Empowerment through trading blood for spells. The spells can be any that the demon may perform (Demonic, Arcane or Elder)" (S218). The same craft makes blood-bound promises: a Blood Pact, in which "each side suffers from debilitating pain and damage while out of compliance", and a Soul Pact, after which "their souls remain in limbo until brought back into compliance/balance" (S218). Its contract magic "makes a deal with a demon/devil" for spells (S218).
- Black magic. "Combines Alchemy or Artificing with Blood Magic to produce dark concoctions, poisons, elixirs and charms" (S208): "Soul and Spirit Magic Rituals, Knotlings and Phials" (S217). Knotlings are small black things a witch sets loose: one "attaches itself to the nearest, strongest non-ally of the witch transferring some of its lifeforce to the witch each turn", one "expels a magical effect, curse or hex" into a knotling that carries it to someone else, and one "attempts to possess and control a target", leaving them "possessed by an insane and evil demon that will destroy everything it can" (S217). Spirit phials hold captured spirits (S217).
- The Sight. "Rituals and phials that grant the witch visions and hidden knowledge" (S219). "Witches' Sight is unique because they are both from the Material and the Hollow and so their sight works in both places. Devils and Demons may also have the sight, but it will be limited to the Hollow/Abyss" (S213, S208).
How the world sees witches¶
To common speech "Maleficanum, Witch, Warlock" are "general terms for evil magic-users" (S395). In the Sancturi Imperium witches are hunted. The clergy's Praestic powder "produces a bright red glow in the presence of Malum", and its supply "is closely controlled by Sancturi Clerics, who use it to root out Witches and those infected with the taint"; "some Sancturi witch hunters have been known to employ it combined with a smoke grenade to detect invisible enemies and quickly identify hostiles" (S132, S146; see Praestus). Witch Slayers, "a general term used to describe those who kill Witches and Devils and destroy Hollows", work alongside the licensed Seekers (S146, S325). The Sancturi countermeasures are described under Hollow Magic.
Covens¶
Witches gather in covens, several of them kingdoms in all but name.
The Alghert Coven¶
The kingdom of Alghert is ruled by witches behind its king, who "knows he is guided by witches, but does not realize the full extent of their control" (S154). Princess Ewe Tugard is an Aphotic witch; the Governess Jehanna Motters is "de facto leader of the Alghert Coven, though she often defers to Ewe", and two lords of the court are witches too, one of whom "manages the Hollow and is proxy Hollowlord" (S154). "Not exactly always a happy witch family, Jehenna keeps Radulf and Emory in line. The Coven also has almost two dozen goblins in its service" (S154). The coven serves the fungal demonlord Adramycos (S181). The coven as a ruling house is described under Tugard Dynasty.
The covens of Arkuun¶
The Hollow of Arkuun held four covens in the Sancturi campaign (S188):
- The Ember Circle, "the most fanatical devil worshippers", led by an Ember Priest.
- Sisters of the Burning Tree, whose head was Corinna, possessed.
- Fire and Shadow, "very dark coven, assassins and summoners".
- Heart of the Pheonix, the "most numerous coven and Hollowlocks", ruled by a Pheonix Council of a hollowlock pyromancer and Malefica and Aphotic witches.
Most of their leaders were possessed when the party met them. A powerful witch, Maganti, lived in hiding on her own isle (S188).
The Bloodhand Coven¶
Hacros is a "witch kingdom, Ruled by the Bloodhand Coven. A place of relative prosperity and odd customs" (S319).
Gap
No source describes how a witch is trained or initiated, how a coven is organized beyond its leaders, or what customs Hacros keeps. The witchcraft of the Fourth Age is not described.
Earlier accounts¶
The Sancturi witchcraft overview of 2018 classes the craft not as alchemy but as "a branch of Elder Magic as it relies on Divine Magic, Abyssal Magic and Ethereal Magic to function", and opens by asking "How do we classify Witch magic?? Ethereal" (S213). The Sancturi notes of the same year call the witch "a Mithis/Taint alchemist" (S146, S325) where the earlier refactor has "Malum alchemist" (S132). The Compendium's list of caster names gives "Witch" as the dark counterpart of the Arcane sphere's casters and the "Witch Doctor, Maleficus" as those of the Living sphere (S372, see Casting Focuses of the Earlier Ages).
Legacy rules for the witchcrafts are kept under Mechanics: Aegic Witchcraft, Malefica Witchcraft and Aphotic Witchcraft.1
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Rules for the Ritual Magic talent: Ritual Magic ↩