She's a Witch

version of the witch for Demon City

WITCHES (also WITCH-CHILDREN and WITCH-LORDS)

Witches (usually female), Witch-Lords (usually male) and Witch Children are mortals who have given over their bodies and souls to demons in exchange for necromantic power. These contracts gnarl their bodies and distend their minds into scheming caricatures. They also eat infants.

Their lives are tragic and their motives always have some petty element—to ruin a past rival in love, to avenge themselves on the authors of a long-ago mockery or humiliation—but the scope of their retributions is vast: whole cities, bloodlines, professions, might be made to pay for the trespass of a lone constituent. Even the mountains of hate that would drive a witch to bring forth all the legions of all the damned to devastate a continent will inevitably have first clotted around some clouded cataract of distant pain.

These depressing creatures might be found leading cults of ordinary sociopaths, swelling the ranks of small or quite extensive and networked covens with fellow practitioners of necromancy, or operating alone, in places nearly as lonely as they are.

Design Notes:

Like demons, witches generally appear to punish victims for something. Unlike demons, this is often something with no meaning to anyone else. The victims are too curious, too naive, too confident, too pretty, too lustful. The witch sees an underlying order to things and gleefully informs the trespassers they have broken it, and will suffer. Witches are also associated with homes—unless the transgression they come to punish is something very specific, the witch is usually content to occupy some dark place (a hovel, a corner suite, a tent by the methadone clinic) and wait for parties to come to her (which is, itself, often considered a crime to be punished).

Moreso than the necromancer (who relies on books) or the deathless (who conjures with ancient gestures) the necromancy of the witch is characterized by ingredients. The witch needs to collect things: tears from a spurned lover, hairs from the family cat, etc. This can create a mystery with no corpse: why are all the left shoes missing from the closet? 

Typical Witch, Witch-Child or Witch-Lord

Calm: 0

Agility: 1

Toughness: 1

Perception: 6 (Can range up to 9)

Appeal: 0

Cash: 4

Knowledge: 6 (Can range up to 9)

Calm Check: 4 (Can range up to 9)

Cards: Queen of Wands (10), Queen of Cups (10), The Devil (15), The Moon (18) Possibly: The High Priestess (2)

Special Abilities:

Necromancy: Any caster/psychic of witchcraft will have at least 7 necromantic spells prepared to cast at any given moment, at least one of which will be a Curse and one of which will be Dim and Darken. These will generally have an intensity equal to their Knowledge stat.

Sixth Sense: All users of witchcraft are supersensitive to danger, hostile emotions and signs of past trauma or the supernatural.

Cyclical Regeneration: Witches regenerate all damage when they Throw any of their special cards.

Haywire Hex: Electronic detection devices and gunpowder firearms simply do not work on witches. They jam or break.

(possibly) Familiar: Familiars are animals bound by witchcraft. The master can control the creature completely (or it controls them? Either way: their will is unified) and see through its eyes—it may be any creature dog-sized or smaller, usually an ordinary animal, but occasionally something stranger.

Marks of Witchcraft: 

In addition to any obvious deformities, there will be at least one other mark—throw or pick one

1 Forked tongue

2 Warts

3 Facial features transposed or missing

4 No neck—head simply floats

5 Looks preternaturally attractive—appeal 6—until touched

6 Jagged teeth—bite inflicts damage as a standard attack

7 One withered hand

8 Followed by rats, spiders, other vermin (this is not a proper swarm, just a subtle cosmetic effect)

9 Appears to be an animal when asleep

10 Two left feet

Witch Gifts :

Constant traffic with witchcraft alters cause and effect around the damned creature. Throw or pick one

( “Presence” means for these purposes within 100’ and the Witch/Lord/Child can see or be seen by the character.)

1 Immune to metal

2 Transmits a curse via sexual intercourse

3 Food spoils in the witch/lord/child’s presence

4 Disorienting presence causes blurred vision and minor hallucinations—everyone must Check Calm vs 3 or act intoxicated

5 Married people forget their spouse’s names in Witch/Lord/Child’s presence.

6 Animals obey witch/lord/child 

7 Emerge from the Darkness: If unwitnessed, witches (etc) may step into any shadow in the city where they are summoned and reappear through any other in the same city.

8 Burning touch (Gains a bonus Throw to hit with a physical attack since witch/lord/child doesn’t have to hit very hard)

9 Kiss causes target to sleep (Calm Check each round to avoid or wake)

10 Induces panic in nuns on sight

Weaknesses:

No practitioner of witchcraft can move through a door with a pointed arch.

A virgin’s touch will reveal a disguised witch or lord for what they truly are.

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