d20 Vigilance Clash of History - Witch Trials.pdf - Vigilance - R5700

Introduction

Credits

Author : Charles Rice

Editing and Proofreading : Paul king

Layout : David Jarvis

Cover : Saint Dominic Presiding over an Auto-da-

fe, Pedro Berruguete, 1475.

Welcome to Clash of History: Witchcraft and

Witch Trials, the fourth in Vigilance Press’ line

of historical fantasy sourcebooks. Previous

installments in the series have looked at the

mounted cavalryman, the lofty noble and the

medieval merchant guildsman. This book looks at

a far darker aspect of life in medieval Europe: the Witch Trials.

Author’s Note : This is a work of ﬁction, designed to bring the medieval concept of witches and witch

trials into your OGL fantasy games. I personally feel most claims of witchcraft, from the Middle Ages to

the present day, to be the result of certain primitive screwheads’ overactive imaginations.

These imaginings had real and terrible consequences for the 50-100,000 killed during the Middle Ages,

most of them single women who fell outside of the accepted rules and norms of the societies of the day. I

have nothing but sympathy for those people.

The view of witchcraft and/or witches advanced in this book is not politically correct. This is not done

to minimize real events or their consequences, however distantly they occurred.

New Core Class:

The Witch

Characteristics : The witch is an arcane spellcaster

who serves the function of a priest for her ﬂock.

Often this group of followers are fellow witches

but also normal men and women who have joined

together in service to a supernatural entity. The

witch serves to recruit new followers and also

advance the cause of the being she serves.

Though rare, male individuals may become

Warlocks (the male equivalent of a Witch). In

medieval Europe, roughly one-quarter of those

executed for witchcraft were male and this serves

as a good barometer of the number of warlocks

compared to witches. Assume one out of every

four Witches encountered is in fact a Warlock.

The Witch (Warlock)

Description : The witch draws her power from

close contact with a supernatural entity. Usually

this entity takes the form of a demon, devil or

supernatural creature that serves a pagan god,

such as a Dryad, Night Hag, Ogre Mage or

Satyr. These are just a few examples of the types

of creatures a witch can form a compact with.

Regardless of the type of creature, the witch’s

powers are unchanged, so the game master can

approve any creature he deems appropriate to

serve as a conduit for the witch’s magical abilities.

Religion : A Witch is not usually religious in the

traditional sense. Though she is a priestess of

an ancient, supernatural entity, that entity is not

usually a god capable of granting divine powers.

Some Witches may view the being they serve as

a god or goddess, but a witch is receiving her

power through contact with the being she serves

and instruction in the magical arts by it.

In rare cases a Witch might be both a member

of this class and an actual priest. In this case, she

gains her divine, priestly powers from a powerful

god (usually an ancient, pagan deity) while

gaining her arcane abilities from a fellow servant

of that god.

Adventures : The witch adventures to advance the

cause of the being she serves. This relationship

is much more direct and personal than the

relationship of a priest and deity, since the witch

will often have direct contact with the being she

serves. Depending on the witch and the power of

the being she serves, this could be a relationship

as equals or a master-servant relationship (with

the witch being the master if extremely high

level).

Background : The Witch begins life as an ordinary

member of medieval society. Then, for a variety

of reasons, she falls through the cracks, falling

outside the normal social order. Especially in

villages of the Middle Ages, the social order is

very delicate and someone who does not slot

into an accepted role can cause a great deal of

disharmony (for a example a landed widow

with wealth of her own following her husband’s

death).

Often these individuals moved into the growing

urban centers of the Middle Ages, where life was

more ﬂuid. A rare few however, will attract the

attention of a supernatural being and be recruited

into the ranks of its followers as a witch, learning

arcane abilities from it.

Role : The Witch is an arcane spellcaster focusing

on enchantments and illusions. She also gains

powers from the supernatural entity she serves,

either minor healing and protection (if a White

Witch) or curses of varying strength (if a Black

Witch).

Skill Points at Each Additional Level : 4+ Int.

modiﬁer.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Witch.

Weapon and Armor Proﬁciency : The Witch is

proﬁcient in Simple Weapons.

Spells : A Witch casts arcane spells which are

drawn primarily from the sorcerer/wizard spell

list. She can cast any spell she knows without

preparing it ahead of time, the way a wizard or a

cleric must (see below).

To learn or cast a spell, a Witch must have a

Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell

level. The Difﬁculty Class for a saving throw

against a Witch’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the

Witch’s Charisma modiﬁer.

Like other spellcasters, a Witch can cast only

a certain number of spells of each spell level

per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given

on Table: The Sorcerer (found in the PHB). In

addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she

has a high Charisma score.

A Witch’s selection of spells is extremely

limited. A Witch begins play knowing four 0-

level spells and two 1st-level spells of her choice.

At each new Witch level, she gains one or more

new spells, as indicated on Table: Sorcerer Spells

Known (found in the PHB). (Unlike spells per

day, the number of spells a Witch knows is not

affected by her Charisma score; the numbers on

Table: Sorcerer Spells Known are ﬁxed.) These

new spells can be common spells chosen from

the sorcerer/wizard spell list, or they can be

unusual spells that the Witch has gained some

understanding of by study. The Witch can’t use

this method of spell acquisition to learn spells at a

faster rate, however.

Game Rule Information

Witches have the following game statistics.

Abilities : Intelligence is the most important

ability for the Witch, since it determines the

power of her spells.

Alignment : Any. Witches tend to be Neutral or

Chaotic, as they have fallen outside the social

structure of the age. Though many Witches are

intent on forming their own, alternate society to

that around them, this society is still one much

more debauched and much less structured than is

usual.

Hit Die : 1d4

Summon Familiar : The Witch has a familiar, as

Sorcerers and Wizards do. This ability functions

exactly as described in the PHB.

Class Skills

The Witch’s class skills (and the key ability for

each skill) are: Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con),

Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha),

Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (nature, religion)

(Int), Spellcraft (Int)

Witch’s Compact : At 1st level the Witch must

bind herself to a supernatural entity that will

serve as the source of her magical abilities. The

Witch must have direct contact with this entity

each time she gains a new level.

Skill Points at 1st Level : (4+ Int. modiﬁer) x4

This being will teach the Witch all of her pells,

though it will usually grant spells the Witch

requests. Note that the being is capable of

imparting power to the Witch in the form of new

spells, even if it cannot cast spells. How this works

is unknown and some mysteries are perhaps best

left unexplained.

3rd: Superior Healing Drink : At 15th level, the

Witch can craft the following superior potions:

Cure Light Wounds, Cure Moderate Wounds and

Cure Serious Wounds . These potions always cure

the maximum possible damage (so a Cure Light

Wounds potion made with this ability would cure

8 points of damage plus 5 for the caster level).

Brew Potion : All Witches are skilled herbalists

and are taught how to work magic through

potions. The Witch gains this feat as a bonus feat

at 3rd level.

4th: Intercession : At 20th level, the Witch can

commune with the supernatural entity she serves

to bring life to a dead individual. This ability

functions as the spell Raise Dead in all respects

except for the casting time. To perform this ability,

the Witch must perform a ritual taking one hour

and spending 5,000 gp equivalent in offerings

(what must be offered will vary depending on the

tastes of the supernatural entity).

Witch’s Path : At 5th level the Witch starts down

the path toward her destiny. She can either be

a White Witch or a Black Witch, based on the

alignment of the supernatural entity she serves.

Those who serve good creatures will be taught the

path of the White Witch, while those who serve

evil will take the path of the Black Witch.

If the entity is neutral, its path will be

determined by the other axis of its alignment,

with a lawful neutral creature teaching the path of

the White Witch and a Chaotic Neutral teaching

the path of the Black Witch. In the rare instance

that the supernatural entity’s alignment is purely

neutral, the game master will select whether it

chooses White or Black Witches to serve it.

Black Witch

1st: Familiar Shape : At 5th level the Witch can

transform herself into the same sort of animal as

her familiar. She can use this ability three times

per day at 5th level and gains an additional use

each day at levels 10, 15 and 20.

2nd: Curse, Lesser: At 10th level the Witch can

bestow a minor curse on a target. This requires the

Witch to be in the target’s presence (within twenty

feet) and to verbally curse him, though she may

mutter and try to be discreet, a Listen check (DC

15) will always reveal the contents of the curse to

anyone nearby.

This curse grants a Will saving throw as normal

but is at half strength and has one of the following

effects: -3 to an ability score; -2 penalty on attack

rolls, saving throws, ability checks and skill

checks; 25% chance to act normally or take no

action.

The Witch may only have a curse from this

ability on one target at a time though she may

voluntarily remove a curse in order to target

someone else. The Witch may not use this ability

more than once per day.

If the Witch dies before this curse is removed

(either by convincing her to rescind it or through

the Remove Curse spell), it may only be removed

through application of Atonement, Limited Wish,

Miracle or Wish spells.

White Witch

1st: Healing Drink : At 5th level, the Witch can

make the following potions: Cure Light Wounds

and Cure Moderate Wounds. At 7th level the Witch

can make the following potions: Cure Serious

Wounds, Neutralize Poison and Remove Disease.

The Witch does not gain the ability to cast these

spells but is treated as if she can cast them at

her current caster level for purposes of creating

potions based on these spells.

2nd: Healing Touch : Beginning at 10th level,

a Witch with a Charisma score of 12 or higher

can heal wounds (her own or those of others) by

touch. Each day she can heal a total number of hit

points of damage equal to her Witch level x her

Charisma bonus. A Witch may choose to divide

her healing among multiple recipients, and she

doesn’t have to use it all at once. Using lay on

hands is a standard action.

3rd: Evil Eye: At 15th level the Witch can bestow

a curse with a glance. She must be within 60 feet

of her target and must be able to see him. This

curse is at full strength, causing a -6 to an ability

score, -4 penalty to the rolls listed above or a 50%

chance to take no action.

Also, the Witch may have an Evil Eye active

on up to three separate targets and may use this

ability three times per day.

However, the Witch may not target the same

person with this ability more than once in a 24

hour period.

cost and XP cost for the potion normally.

Further, the Witch can craft these potions into

any food or drink (typically something the target

ﬁnds delicious or irresistible). This potion cannot

be revealed as magical, poisonous or evil by any

sort of detection short of True Seeing . If the target

willingly consumes the potion (in whatever form),

it gains no saving throw against the effect. If the

target is forced to consume the potion (physically,

being tricked into consuming the potion does not

count) it gains a saving throw normally.

The effects of a spell delivered through this

ability also have their durations increased, to one

year per Witch level. Spell effects delivered by

potions of this type can only be removed through

the Remove Curse spell or some other effect

deemed appropriate by the game master (the kiss

of a loved one for example).

4th: Malevolent Food/Drink : At 20th level, the

Witch can make a potion of the following spells:

Sleep, Disguise Self (the Witch chooses the form),

Touch of Idiocy, Alter Self (again, the Witch chooses

the form), Deep Slumber, Suggestion (the Witch may

either choose a Suggestion when making the potion

or it could be the ﬁrst suggestion made to the target

after consuming the potion), Confusion, Bestow Curse,

Contagion and Baleful Polymorph.

The Witch must know and be able to cast the

spell to make a potion of it and must pay the gold

A Thousand Faces (Su) : At 13th level, a Witch

gains the ability to change her appearance at will,

as if using the alter self spell.

Table 1-1: The Witch

Level

Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save

Special

1st

Summon Familiar; Witch’s Compact

2nd

3rd

Brew Potion

4th

5th

Witch’s Path

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

Witch’s Path

11th

12th

+6/+1

13th

+6/+1

A thousand Faces

14th

+7/+2

15th

+7/+2

Witch’s Path

16th

+8/+3

+10

17th

+8/+3

+10

18th

+9/+4

+11

19th

+9/+4

+11

20th

+10/+5

+12

Witch’s Path

d20 Vigilance Clash of History - Witch Trials.pdf

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