Witchcraft Wednesday Edition
In most games, when the party gathers for the first time, there's a fairly straightforward motive: treasure, fame, glory, revenge. Maybe they’re trying to save their village. Maybe they just need to pay off a bar tab. Whatever the case, the classic adventurer is easy to motivate. Dangle gold or justice in front of them, and they’ll go down into the dungeon willingly.
But witches and warlocks?
Their motives tend to be… different.
“She didn’t go into the ruins for gold. She went looking for the name she saw in her dreams.”
- page, recovered from the bog near Meirath’s Hollow
Witches often aren’t chasing wealth. They might live in crumbling cottages or vine-covered towers filled with tea, bones, and books. They have what they need. Their magic doesn’t come from loot, it comes from knowing. From power earned through pacts, practices, and pain.
When a witch goes on a journey, it’s usually because something has shifted in the world:
- The stars have changed their alignment.
- A long-forgotten spirit has begun to whisper again.
- A charm buried under a tree has broken.
- A name has been spoken that should not have been known.
Their motive isn’t external. It’s internal, symbolic, spiritual. Sometimes it’s not even clear to them at first. But they feel it. A pull. A path. The wind shifts through the birches in a different way, and suddenly she knows it’s time to move.
Warlocks, too, have unique motives, but theirs are often tied to obligation.
Their power comes at a cost, after all. And sometimes that cost is paid in quests, souls, or favors. Maybe they heard their patron whisper something in their sleep. Maybe they found a rune etched into the frost on their window and knew they had to follow it. Or maybe they have no choice. Maybe the pact has come due.
That’s the thing about occult characters in fantasy RPGs: their motives aren’t lesser or greater than the standard adventurer’s, they’re just deeper. More tangled in the weird threads of fate and prophecy and intuition. Sometimes they’ll ride alongside the party for gold and steel and good company, but eventually, something will pull them off the path. And that’s when the story really begins.
So next time a witch joins your adventuring party, ask her why she’s there.
If she tells you it’s for gold, she’s lying.
She already knows something’s coming.
She just doesn’t want to be the only one standing when it arrives.
Questions
How. Optimistic. Accessory.
Hmm. How does a particular accessory keep you optimistic?
As I mentioned yesterday, I often take the point of view of the characters. A while back, I got some art done of Larina. I don't remember which one it was, but around her waist she wore chain and it was threaded with dragon teeth. I had asked for a dragon tooth charm, and that is what I got back. I like to trust the artists with their vision, and this was a good choice. In my games from that point, it was a "charm" she wore to provide protection. While mechanically it added to her saving throws, I said it was something that gave her hope. She could collect all these dragon teeth and know she helped defeat those monsters, so whatever challenge was next, she could handle.
1 comment:
Always trust the artist. It has worked out great for me every time 😊
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