From: Eric Noah Over Winter Break I wrote and submitted this article to DRAGON Magazine. Dale Donovan was kind enough to reject it right away instead of waiting his customary six months (that makes me 2-3 -- woo-hoo!), so I thought "If it isn't good enough for DRAGON, by God, ADND-L will love it!" So here it is ... ================================================== Witches Three: New Kits for Wizards Eric R. Noah _The Complete Wizard's Handbook_ introduced a Witch kit that was a welcome addition to the AD&D game and yet somewhat frustrating. It was welcome because the Witch is a familiar figure in literature from fairy-tales to Shakespeare, and an AD&D equivalent would make a compelling villain or a fascinating PC. It was frustrating, though, because it was somewhat vague about the source of the Witch's spellcasting power, and seemed to leave some of the Witch's traditional skills behind. Presented here are three new "Witch" kits that seem to mirror common "witch" archetypes. Along with information about each kit are some adventure ideas for DMs. Brewing Witch Introduction: The green-skinned hag hunched over the cauldron in the shadows of her hut. Dying embers cast an eldritch light on her warty face. She muttered the names of ingredients as she tossed them, one at a time, into the thickly boiling brew: "Eye of newt. Toe of cat. Hair of elf. Week-dead rat." Her work done, she scooped up a ladle-full of the grotesque, steaming concoction and drank it down in a greedy gulp. Soon ... very soon, she would take the form of a lovely elven maiden. And then, what havoc she would wreak in town! Description: The Brewing Witch is a wizard who gets her power from the brews she creates, rather than learning spells in the traditional manner. At higher levels, she is capable of creating standard potions as well. Role: The Brewing Witch is a hermit-like recluse who spends much of her time researching and preparing her vile potions. As such, she begins to take a legendary quality in her home region, for while she is sometimes seen poking about for this or that ingredient, she usually frightens people with her unsightly appearance and filthy habits. Requirements: First, the Brewing Witch is always a mage, never a specialist. Second, in order to tolerate the many horrifying ingredients she will ingest through her career, the Brewing Witch needs a Constitution of at least 13. Otherwise, she must have the same requirements as any other wizard. Alignment: The Brewing Witch operates outside the laws of the region where she resides, and therefore cannot be of any Lawful alignment. Preferred Schools: Because the Brewing Witch may not specialize, there is no preferred school of specialization. Barred Schools: None. However, the Brewing Witch has only a limited type of spell she can master; see below. Weapon Proficiencies: The Brewing Witch is permitted to learn only the dagger, knife, or dart. She never gains any slots for weapon skills other than her initial slot. Non-Weapon Proficiencies: Bonus: Brewing. Required: Herbalism. Recommended: Cooking, Fire-building, Agriculture. Equipment: The Brewing Witch has no need for a spellbook, but she will need a way to record her recipes -- normal writing utensils will do. She also must purchase at least 50 gp worth of brewing equipment, ingredients and supplies with her initial funds. In addition, she must spend 50 gp at the start of each experience level she gains in order to be able to continue creating her magical brews. Special Benefits: The Brewing Witch has several special benefits, as explained below: 1) Create Brews: Instead of memorizing spells from a spell book, the Brewing Witch spends her time and talent creating brews which act like spells in most respects. One brew is created for each spell she is permitted to learn; after 24 hours have passed, the brews loose their potency and are worthless. These brews are magical not only due to the strange ingredients they contain, but because the Brewing Witch invests some of her own magical power into them. She therefore can only create a limited number of brews per day (i.e., the number of spells she can learn according to her level). There are a number of limitations to this method of spellcasting. First, brews can only be created to duplicate spells that have a personal effect -- that is, they effect the drinker of the brew. Change self, comprehend languages, all detection spells, enlarge, feather fall, jump, and all protection magics are examples of spells that clearly have a personal effect. Magic missile, dancing lights, mending, phantasmal force, and Tenser's floating disc are spells that clearly do not have a personal effect. Other spells may fall into an in-between area. The DM must make the final decision as to whether a particular spell can be made into a brew. The Brewing Witch learns new brew recipes in two ways. One is to discover them while adventuring -- say, a book of recipes from a rival witch. The other is through research. As long as the Brewing Witch has been spending the required time and money (50 gp per level on equipment and supplies; 2-4 hours per day hunting for ingredients and performing experiments), she automatically learns d4+1 new brews per experience level (selected by the DM). Brews act exactly as the spell they imitate, but because a brew must be drunk to work, the casting time is increased by an initiative modifier of 1 (the same modifier as for drinking a normal potion). These brews take time to create: one hour of preparation time, plus 15 minutes per level per spell. A Brewing Witch capable of creating 3 1st-level and 2 2nd-level brews will need (1 hour + [3x1x15] + [2x2x15] ) 2 hours, 45 minutes to complete her brews. Brews also require ingredients. As noted, the Brewing Witch must spend 2-4 hours per day hunting for ingredients. These take the place of any stated consumable spell components; the Witch will still need to furnish any non-consumable components normally at the time the brew is swallowed. Brews created at the Brewing Witch's lab will always work correctly. Brews created away from home have a chance of backfiring. For each brew concocted away from the Witch's lab, the DM should roll an Ability Check vs. the Witch's Intelligence; failure means that the brew will backfire when consumed. The DM should determine the results of the backfire, but such results could include mild poisoning, incapacitating nausea, or a faerie fire-like glowing in the imbiber. Brews, once created, can be used by characters other than the Witch who created them. 2) Create Potions. Starting at 5th level, the Brewing Witch learns the art of concocting more powerful potions. She learns one potion per experience level (starting with 5th) from the tables below (exactly which is determined by the DM or by a random roll). The Brewing Witch must learn all of the potions from Table A before learning any from Table B. The tables themselves can be modified by the individual DM. d8 Table A: Basic Potions Table B: Advanced Potions 1 Philter of Love (200 XP) Clairvoyance (300) 2 Sweet Water (200) Diminution (300) 3 Ventriloquism (200) Fire Resistance (250) 4 Healing (200) Growth (250) 5 Gaseous Form (300) Invisibility (250) 6 Clairaudience (250) Philter of Glibness (500) 7 Climbing (300) Water Breathing (400) 8 Plant Control (250) Speed (200) Creating potions is expensive and time consuming -- although less so than for other wizards. Both cost and time are calculated based on the XP values given for potions on Table 89 (DMG p. 135). The cost is a number of gold pieces equal to half the XP value. The time is a number of days equal to the XP value divided by 50. For example, creating a potion of clairaudience (250 XP) costs 125 gp and takes 5 days. The Brewing Witch can only create one potion of each type she knows per month. Potions must always be created at the Witch's lab, never "on the road." She gains normal experience points for creating them. Potions created by Brewing Witches are less stable than their standard counterparts. There is a 30% chance, minus 1% for each point of the Witch's Intelligence, that a witch-created potion backfires. These effects are left to the DM, but can include more spectacular effects, such as severe poisoning, severe alteration of the drinker's appearance, explosions, or effects similar to those from the Wild Surge Table (Tome of Magic). 3) Spell-like powers. The Brewing Witch gains a number of inherent powers which are activated by force of will (and 1 round of concentration). At 1st level, the Brewing Witch can cast _find familiar_ once per week until a familiar is secured. Of course, the Witch can only have one familiar at a time. At 5th level, she may identify any potion with complete accuracy, up to 3 times per week. At 9th level, the Brewing Witch can perform _Alamir's Fundamental Breakdown_ once per day, but only on potions, brews, and non-magical substances. Special Restrictions: The Brewing Witch operates under a number of restrictions: 1) Witchy Appearance. At 1st level, the Brewing Witch looks like any other person of her race. As she gains experience levels, however, the witch lifestyle and the consumption of hideous ingredients begins to physically corrupt her. At the beginning of each level after the 1st, the Brewing Witch gains some unsightly characteristic. These could include warts, changes in skin coloration, changes in hair texture, blackening of teeth or fingernails, a forked tongue, foul breath, etc. The player should be in charge of determining these features, with the DM having final approval. These changes make it harder and harder for the Brewing Witch to interact with normal people. As a result, she looses 1 point of Charisma at each of levels 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18. Charisma will never drop below 3 as a result of the witchy appearance, however. Many Brewing Witches learn _change self_ brews early on in order to help cover up these features. 2) Restrictions on Magical Items. The Brewing Witch cannot use scroll spells. Neither can she use items reserved exclusively for wizards (these include certain wands, staves, rods, rings, robes and other items created with the standard wizard in mind). 3) Combat Restrictions. As noted above, the Brewing Witch can learn one and only one weapon. 4) Gathering Ingredients and Performing Experiments. It is assumed that the Brewing Witch can get most of the ingredients necessary for her brews in any forest. She should be actively looking for such ingredients, or performing experiments, for 2-4 hours each day. The DM may decide that a particularly powerful spell needs rare ingredients or a difficult, experimental brewing technique. This option can lead to interesting adventure opportunities. Wealth Options: The Brewing Witch starts out with (d4+5) x 10 gp. As noted, 50 gp must be spent on brewing equipment at the outset. Races: Any race eligible for the wizard class can become a Brewing Witch. Notes: It is vital that the DM play up the special aspects of the Brewing Witch, especially the witchy appearance, the limits of what kinds of spells she may select, and the tendency for brews and potions to backfire. These things make the Brewing Witch interesting and fun characters. Adventure Ideas: Brewing Witch as NPC: A witch could hire or coerce PCs into helping her secure special ingredients, deliver a brew or potion, or test out a new brew. PCs in need of a specific potion (say, water breathing for an aquatic mission) might be required to seek out a witch to find what they need. An NPC Brewing Witch who is in need of a very unusual ingredient like a dwarf's heart or a halfling's ear may target an appropriate PC as a potential source of such ingredients. Brewing Witch as a PC: Looking for ingredients and testing brews are activities that can generate adventure. A brewing Witch may also desire to seek a hidden or guarded source of new recipes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eric Noah ernoah@students.wisc.edu "Just because I like Star Trek, computers, and Dungeons & Dragons doesn't mean I'm a geek . . . but I can't think of a better term . . ." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~