"I was raised by witches boy, I see with more than eyes and you know that."
- Frigga to Thor in 2013, Avengers Endgame
Call me biased, but I have always liked the idea that witches see things that other character types don't. Not just in terms of "infravision" or "dark vision" but in just "other vision."
A couple of house rules that I always use are witches can see ghosts, spirits, and other sorts of magical creatures that are typically invisible to others. They can see magical auras which they can tell something about the person they are looking at. Most importantly they can recognize other witches on sight.
Mechanically it really doesn't add much to D&D. I argue the kinds of ghosts and things the witch can see are harmless to everyone. But if you can see them, then they can see you. So they are not always harmless to the witch herself.
In Ghosts of Albion, this type of vision is known as "Lesser Sensing" and it is something all magical creatures, including magicians and witches, have.
Witches and Warlocks in NIGHT SHIFT do this as part of their class.
I have extended it to my fantasy games where it is just called "The Sight."
In D&D3-5 or Pathfinder1-2, it could easily be a Feat. For my Basic-era witches an Occult Power.
The Sight
Using the Sight requires a moment of concentration but then the witch can See. She can see magical auras that will give her some basic information on what she is looking at.
She can See:
- magical effects such as active spells, charms, curses or compulsions on a person
- magical lines of force (ley lines)
- whether or not a person is a spell-caster* (she can always detect another witch)
- undead
With more concentration (1 round) she can See:
- Invisible creatures
- alignment
- polymorphed, shape-changed or lycanthropes
The subject of the witch's Sight knows they are being Seen. They get an uncomfortable feeling and know it is coming from the witch, even if they do not know what it means.
That's the rough version, it would need to be tweaked for the respective games. For example it would work with D&D 5's perception skill.
I always liked the concept of magically-touched individuals, items and places glowing with an arcane light that mundane types can't perceive, but which in turn gives them away to others that can see the "magic" side of the spectrum. With effort and experience you might learn to suppress that light, but only at the cost of muting your own senses and not using magic yourself.
ReplyDeleteAlso means major magic feats light up the sky like a mystic thunderstorm, which can draw attention for miles around.
Cool idea! I like it!
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