DMSGuild Witch Project: Wonders of the Witch

This is the last week on my DMsGuuild Witch Project Reviews. I am going to focus on some of the larger PDFs now. Also, all of these are full witch classes.

I am going to still follow my own rules and guidelines to make sure I am giving these a fair review. 

Wonders of the Witch
by Ryan Van Natter & Matthew Emerson

This PDF is 50 pages (front and back covers, legal, 47 pages of content) and runs for $9.99. 

It is light on art (save for a great cover) but high on design.  It is a very attractive book to look at and super easy to read.

I have not talked about PDF bookmarks so far because there has never been a need; all the other pdfs have been small enough to not really need them.  This PDF is larger and uses them. So another plus in their favor.

We open with a fiction section with Baba Yaga instructing a young Igwilv (sic) on the nature of magic and witchcraft.  Seriously are you guys just flirting with me now?  As someone that has spent a lot of time with both characters in my games, this one feels right.  Canon accepted.  Hell that cover could double as the young Iggwilv/Tasha really. 

We start out with witch-related background details. There is the Dedicate, the Disciple, the Healer, the Hidden One, the Malefactor, and the Temptress (or Tempter). Each with associated Traits, Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws.   Eight pages of this and I want to figure out a witch for each one. 

Next is the Witch class proper. It is a full 20 levels with powers at many levels.  The archetypes/subtypes/subclasses for this are known as Covens and they are Hag, Grey, Elemental, and White.  Spellcasting ability is Charisma.   This witch has spell slots like all casters, and a max number of spells known.  Witches are Ritual casters and use arcane spell foci.  So yeah, everything I want to see in a witch really.

Witches gain a power at 2nd level (Beguile) and then a "Witch Craft" at levels 3, 10 and 17.  These function a bit like Hexes (Pathfinder) or Occult Powers (mine).  There is a list to choose from and these are independent of coven.

The covens are nicely detailed. They are all written in a manner that immediately makes you realize that the authors could add any number of extra covens as their imagination sees fit. This is yet another positive aspect of this class. The covens also feel different enough and cover a wide variety of witchy archetypes. 

Spell lists follow with the expected spells. There are also NEW SPELLS. This is the real gem of this book.   There are 27 new spells here. They are truly new spells. There are some that will feel familiar, but many that are new.

For clerics there is a new "Black Magic" Domain. 

We also get some new named covens.  There is the Daughters of Twilight, dedicated to Shar (and a new spell).  The Vistani get the Stravaneska Tasque, and a new spell. The Secret Shards dedicated to Selûne (and a new spell).  The Sun Sisters, dedicated to the Goddess of the Sun. The Blood of the Green, witches of the forests.  The Red Witches of Thay, a Lawful Good sect of witches in Thay!  So six more new spells.

There are some Tools fo the Trade which covers many new magic items. 

50 plot hooks for witch adventures. 

A bit on the Mother Goddess in the Realms, or bringing the Witch Goddess to the Toril. 

Finally a bestiary of witch related creatures.  These are the: Brownie, Gallows Hag, Rune Hag, Weeping Hag, Gilt Hag, Severed Hag, Daughter of Darkness (!) Witch, and Witch High Priestess.  They are organized by CR.

This really is a quality product. One of the best of the DMsGuidl Witches to be honest. 

DMSGuild Witch Project: 5e Witches, Part 3

Going to look at some more D&D 5 Witch classes today. Today and the rest of the week I am going to look at some of the smaller PDFs.  Usually less than 20 pages.

For these DMSGuild classes, I am going to still follow my own rules and guidelines to make sure I am giving these a fair review. 

Witch Class
by Todd D

This PDF is eight pages, all content. The PWYW price is set to $0.00, but following my guidelines $0.80 or even a buck would be good. There is no art but the layout is good. This is one of the earliest witch classes submitted to DMSGuild.

This witch is more like a warlock, but that is what it is advertised as. These witches appear to be manipulators of Fate. These witches also use Wisdom as their spellcasting ability. Instead of pacts or traditions, this witch has "Heritages"; the Traditionalist, the Blighted, and the Clairvoyant. Each one gives the witch some different sorts of powers. Ends with a spell list. At eight pages it seems a bit thin but does exactly what it said it was going to do.

It is less like a witch and more like a "Hedge Warlock" in my mind.  Granted, this is not a bad thing at all. 

Toss the author a buck and wish them "Happy Halloween."

Witch Class for DND 5e
by Dani Sankovich

This PDF is 8 pages, all content. The PDF sells for $0.50 PWYW, so under my 10 cents per page guidelines. Since it is also all content and no filler, so $1.00 would be appropriate here. 

The class is a full 20 levels with spell casting to the 9th spell level. There is a max Spells Known per level. The ability for spell casting is Intelligence. 

These witches have a "Binding Locus" that gives them their power. This also grants them abilities at certain levels. Binding Loci can be Arcane, Void, Wilds and Entity. The Entity is somewhat like the Warlock's patron and has a few more powers.

We end with the spell list. No new spells.

It's Halloween, go ahead and give them $1.00.

Witch Class (D&D 5e)
by Brian Barnshaw

This PDF is 11 pages (1 title, 1 legal, 9 content) and no art. The layout is clean but the background image makes it a little harder to read.  

There is some background given, relating the witch to the druid. It is fine, but I don't quite think it came over the way the author wanted it to. 

This witch is a full caster of 20 levels and to the 9th level of spell ability. This witch is also a wisdom caster and has ritual casting.  These witches also gain a familiar.

The archetypes are known as covens, as expected. There are two Creators and Hag's Disciple.  The Hag one is expanded based on the type of Hag. 

There is a spell list, but no new spells.

Again, each one gets at the witch from a different point of view and works well within that point of view. It might be interesting to build a Grand Coven with a witch from each of these.

DMSGuild Witch Project: 5e Witches, Part 2

Going to look at some more D&D 5 Witch classes today. Today and the rest of the week I am going to look at some of the smaller PDFs.  Usually less than 20 pages.

For these DMSGuild classes, I am going to still follow my own rules and guidelines to make sure I am giving these a fair review.

Witch Class 5E
by Donald Armstrong

This pdf is 15 pages (1 title, 1 legal) and selling at $1.00 PWYW, falling below my 10 cents per page price threshold.  The PDF itself reminds me a bit of the style and presentation of an Unearthed Arcana article, but with art. I am sure that is the author's intent.

This class has a bit more flavor than others, with a little more background for the witch. It takes a specific point of view on witchcraft but is easily adopted or adapted.  Like most of the other DMSGuild witches, this one is a full 20 levels with casting to the 9th spell level ability. This one also has a limit on the total number of spells the witch can know.  The witch gets some powers common to all witches and some that specific to their coven.  The common powers are known as Witchcraft (naturally) and revolve around channeling life energy. 

The covens include the Celestial, Fey, and Infernal. There is a spell list and four new spells.  So this gives it an edge over many of the others. 

There are a lot of neat ideas here and many worth looking into deeper.

D&D 5e Witch Class
by Nils Kjesem

This PDF is 18 pages (1 title, 17 pages content). There is no art and no layout above what can be done in a simple word processor. It also only sells for $1.00, so that evens everything out.

This witch is at 20 levels, but only progresses to the 5th spell level ability. Interestingly enough this witch also uses a 1d8 for HD, so making her a little tough than other witches. This one also puts more details into the various familiars the witch can get.

The archetypes are referred to as "Teachings" here. There are Fortune Teller, Herbology, and Sigils. 

We get a spell list at the end.  

Some interesting ideas, but it feels a bit like a rough draft rather than a completed product. Then again for $1.00 you can buy it and detail it any way you like. 

DMSGuild Witch Project: 5e Witches, Part 1

Going to look at some more D&D 5 Witch classes today. Today and the rest of the week I am going to look at some of the smaller PDFs.  Usually less than 20 pages.

For these DMSGuild classes, I am going to still follow my own rules and guidelines to make sure I am giving these a fair review.

The Witch Class
by Spencer Dimmick

This one is 15 pages (1 title, 1 legal, 13 pages content) and sells for $1.99. There is no art.  This class is a full 20 levels, with spell casting to the 9th spell level ability.  This witch also has a number of spells known per level. Spellcasting is based on Intelligence.

This witch has a number of special powers and more granted by their Practitioner's Path. These include The Hedge Witch, The Seer, The Maleficent, The Familial, and The Weaver. So a few more than average. Each has a nice solid witchy feel to it and can fill many niches for the witch class. 

Also detailed are more powers for the witch and the list of witch spells. No new spells are included.

For 2 bucks it packs a lot of punch.

Witch Class: Cackling Guidebook for lonely Spellcasters
From Ingo Könemann

This PDF is 9 pages and $1.00 PWYW. There is no art but the layout is nice. 1 page for the title and 1 page for legal and changelog, bring the content down to 6 pages.  This class is a full 20 levels, with spell casting to the 9th spell level ability. 

This one is interesting since your "Source of Power" determines your spellcasting ability. You may choose Intelligence or Charisma. This witch is also a ritual caster.

Covens grant the witch some "secret spells" starting at the 2nd level and special powers.

The Covens are Coven of the Beast, Coven of the Storm, Coven of Nature.   

There is a list of spells, but no new spells. 

Both have some good points but I'd like to see them expanded a bit.

DMSGuild Witch Project: The Witch

Going to look at some more D&D 5 Witch classes today. These are all just called "The Witch." Since that was also the name of my first witch book back in 2012 I thought I should check them out.  As it turns out I have one for each primary spellcasting ability, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. 

For these DMSGuild classes, I am going to still follow my own rules and guidelines to make sure I am giving these a fair review.

The Witch by Jeroen Boogaard

This pdf is 8 (6 pages content, 1 cover, 1 page of spells) pages at $0.50, so right under my ¢10 per page guideline.  The pdf is full color but light on art. Mind you, that is not a big deal here since the art it does have is used to good effect. 

Presented here is a full 20 level spellcasting class similar in feel to the Pathfinder witch, including minor (five of these) and major hexes (also five of these).  They get a full 9 levels of spell casting slots and Intelligence is their spellcasting ability.   These witches also get an herbalism ability.  Their subtypes are known as "Covens" so that is a good thing.  There are the covens of the dragon, the ancestor, and of the wild.  Each coven gets some special abilities and additional spells.

There is a spell list on the last page, but no new spells.  There are some minor typos, but nothing that impedes the understanding of the text.

The Witch by Dave Rich

This PDF is 15 pages (1 cover, 10 pages content, 3 pages of Appendicies, 1 legal). No art.  The pice is $3.00 PWYW.  So twice my ¢10 per page guideline. 

This one presents the witch class with four archetypes and a sorcerous origin.  We get a full 20 levels of the witch class. Spellcasting is based on Wisdom, and the witch gets a full 9 levels of spellcasting.  This class has a limit on the total number of spells known.  For example, the witch has a full 22 spell slots from 1st to 9th level, but only knows 17 spells.  you can choose to forget a spell of lower level when a higher one is available.  Witches gain familiars here and have a number of unique powers.

The Archetypes of the witch are called Entropic Spirals here. There are the Spiral of Life, Spiral of Fate, Spiral of Bewitching, and Spiral of Glamour. There is a list of spells, with an expansion to cover Xanathar's Guide.   

Appendix A covers a sorcerous origin for witches. Appendix B details the author's thoughts on the creation of this class; namely Terry Pratchett's Discworld and Mage: The Ascension. 

Some neat ideas and I like the sorcerous origin.

Class: The Witch by Calum Brough

This PDF is 11 pages (1 cover, 1 table,  2 pages of spell list).  I don't recall if I paid $1.02 for this or $1.27. Either way right around my ten cents per page.  There is no art. 

This class is designed to be an arcane variant or compliment to the Druid.  A full 20 levels (as expected) with spellcasting to the 9th level of spells.  This class is a Charisma-based spell caster. There are some witch powers here, some are copied over from the druid.

The Archetypes for this witch are the Maiden, Mother, and Crone.  Each archetype has some nice powers to go along with it.  There are no new spells.

Each of these comes close to the idea of the witch, but not the ideal witch. 

DMSGuild Witch Project: Vesper Burjoski's Witches

This week I am going back to looking at pure Witch classes.  Today I am grabbing two PDFs from Vesper Burjoski.  One of a class and one of the additional subclasses.   

For these DMSGuild classes, I am going to still follow my own rules and guidelines to make sure I am giving these a fair review.

The Witch: 5e Class

This is the base witch class.  The PDF sells for $2.00 and has 24 pages (1 cover, 23 pages of content) so well over my 10 cents per page guideline.  This PDF also looks nice, making good use of layout and art. 

This witch is a charism based caster with wisdom as the ability to cover other abilities.  She also has a lot of nice background information. This witch casts similar to a warlock but is limited to the 5th level.  This makes her similar to the Hedge Witches I have reviewed in the past.   This witch also has magical tattoos called kennings that provide powers.   I'll give it to this witch class, it has a lot of really cool features.

The archetypes are known as Coven-Keepers, Mediums, and Transmaurge. Each has some neat features including some additional spells.  Coven-Keepers draw on their covens which can include other spell casters.  Mediums speak with ancestral or fey spirits. It might work well, thematically, with some warlock multiclassing.  The Transaurge alters and changes animals around them.  A really cool idea to be honest.

Speaking of multiclassing there is even a section on multiclassing this witch. 

Next up are the Kennings, or the tattoos with power. Mechanically they work a bit like Occult Powers,  Hexes, or Invocations.  The kennings have a solid witchy feel to them. 

There are no new spells (but not really needed) and five NPC witches.

All in all you get a lot for your $2.00.  

The Witch: 3 New Subclasses

This PDF provides three new witch subclasses. This is 11 pages with a PWYW suggestion of $1.00, so again right at that 10 cents a page.  The subclasses are, The Wortwitch (which the author also calls a Hedge witch), the Fatalist, and the Rambler.  The DMSGuild page does a great job of detailing the various sub-classes. 

Like his previous witch book, this one has a lot of flavor to it.   There are also more Kennings in this pdf as well.  

Both PDFs together come in at $3.00 and over 30 pages. 

The author has other pdfs on DMSGuild too. I might need to check them out.

DMSGuild Witch Project: Near Witches and Witch-related

A bit of a different batch today.  These PDFs came up in my searches and suggested products, so I thought I should check them out.  Most of these are not Witches in the sense I have been using the term, but close enough.  Since this past week has all been about other classes as witches I thought I'd end the week with these.

Again, I am going to try to stick to my own rules and guidelines for these reviews. 

The Witch Born (Half Hag)

Ok, this one caught my eye because it uses the same art as my "The Witch for Basic-era Games" and it offers up a new race; something I have not done a lot of myself. 
The PDF is 3 pages (1 cover, 2 pages of content) and is PWYW with a suggestion of $0.50. 
The layout is nice and the internal artwork also good.  The pdf presents a playable race, a sort of half-hag known as a Witch-born.  The material is good and the race seems playable.  Only a couple of nitpicks. The race is often described as cursed, but there is little in the way of mechanics behind that. All the traits seem positive and there seems little reason not to play this over a normal human.  There is the fact that hags hate them, but hags hate everyone.   It's hard to complain about 50 cents, but something to make them stick out a bit might have been nice. 

Class: The Witch Doctor

NOTE: Between my review and today this PDF changed it's name to The Shaman.

This one is a 9 page PDF (7 pages content) with a PWYW price suggested at $1.00.  So right there near the 10 cents per page guideline I am looking at.  My issue with this one is it conflates "Witch Doctor" and "Voodoo" together. Granted, so has Hollywood and western culture for years. In the 7 pages, the class is presented with three different "Occult Practices." The class seems playable, but if this is to replace the various tribal shamans or tribal priests I would have gone a different direction myself. 

The layout is good, but the color background will drain your ink. The art is good. The pieces I recognize are from the DMSGuild collection, the ones I don't do not have a credit attached. 

I would like to see a Voodoo-like class done right someday. 

The Witch Knight

Witch-knight is one of my favorite concepts for witches. An armored knight that is sworn to protect and defend witch covens.  I have done it many times as Cowans, Witch Guardians, and Wardens.  But this one is a witch knight proper.

This PDF is 14 pages (13 pages content) and is PWYW with a suggestion of $5.00.  A bit more than my 10 cents per page guide, but lets see what is inside.  The art and layout is great. It looks like a 5e book. The art and layout are all given proper credit, so that is a mark above many titles in the DMSGuild.  

The Witch Knight is a full martial class of 20 levels with some limited spell-casting ability.  The powers the witch-knight gets look good on the surface. It feels like a good playable class. The sub-classes of the Witch Knight are known as Disciplines and there are five of them.  The Spellblade and the Eldritch Guardian are my two favorites and fit best with my own concepts of a Witch Knight.

There is a spell list and even a section on brand new spells.  So that is a nice bonus.

All in all the class looks like a lot of fun, but I am left wondering (and not just for this one but for my own and others like it) what does this class do that an Eldritch Knight can't already do?  The obvious answers are in the powers, but couldn't this just be a way to role-play an Eldritch Knight?  However you decide to do it, this PDF has some great ideas. 

Kickstart Your Weekend: C&C and Weird War II

A couple of fun Kickstarters today.

Castles & Crusades Roads to Adventure

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ckg/castles-and-crusades-roads-to-adventure?ref=theotherside

The Troll Lords always put out a quality Kickstarter.  While I don't need a new printing of the Player's Handbook, a collection of all the spells has me intrigued. The Player's Archive also sounds fantastic.  So yeah there is a lot going for this Kickstarter.  You can customize your pledges in many ways. So say you only want the Spellbook and Archive? You can do that. Want all three? Yup. Want one book and some of the great add-ons? You can do that too.  Now that they have hit the stretch goals of the Spellbook in hardcover this is a no-brainer for me.

Castles & Crusades is still one of my favorite alternatives to D&D.  

Speaking of D&D, modern designers are doing a lot with the current version.

Nazi Dracula Must Die! Campaign Setting for DnD 5E

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nazidracula/nazi-dracula-must-die-campaign-setting-for-dnd-5e?ref=theotherside

It's occult World War II!  Sure we have seen this particular Alt-History a lot in the RPG world, but this one has something cool about it.  Plus it is for D&D 5th Edition so there is that.

Frankly, I might get it as an addition to my D&D games.  It just looks like a lot of fun!

Besides any time I can fireball a bunch of Nazis is great.

DMSGuild Witch Project: 5e Wizards as Witches

And our last look at D&D 5e Base classes as witches.  Today I will work with Wizards.

Again, I am using these rules/guidelines for my reviews.

School of Witchcraft

This pdf is only two pages (no cover). It is listed as PWYW with a suggested price of $1.00.

It is a pretty straight-forward Arcane Tradition (Wizard sub-class) to add a witchy feel to a wizard. IT does offer a stat block for a witch, which is nice, but some new spells would have been nicer or even a list of spells the witch can access outside of the wizard's list.  The Warlock's Witch Bolt and the divine/Cleric Cure Wounds would have been good choices. 

I had hoped for more.

The Coven Guide to Witchcraft (5e Bundle)

This pdf is 39 pages and is priced at $5.99. So also a bit more than my ¢10 per page rule of thumb.  This one combines four of the author's previous works into one pdf with a witchcraft theme.  As themes, they work and I can see where the author is coming from but there is one rather big issue.

There is no witch class within these pages.  I am sure that the four different crafts could be layered over the top of other classes, say like the druid or wizard, there is no advice on how to do so.  This is a supplement where I don't have the book it is a supplement too. 

There plenty of neat ideas here and 20 some odd new spells as well as recipes and poisons. 

The author has close to 150 titles on DMSGuild, but this one looks like an early attempt. I searched to make sure there wasn't a book of classes that this might be referring too.  

Which is too bad for the size and the price I was hoping for a bit more.

DMSGuild Witch Project: 5e Sorcerers as Witches

We have done druids, warlocks so let's now have a look on how D&D 5e Sorcerers can be witches. 

Up first might have the longest title yet.

The Witch - A Sorcerous Origin and Character Background Option for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons

This PDF is seven pages and is PWYW with a suggested payment of $1.17.  Ok, a bit random, especially since the $1.14 makes a little more historical sense. 

The author knows his sorcerers, so that is reflected here. The pdf has background information for your witch characters as well as some other useful tables. The Sorcerous origin reads like a "Natural" or "Born" witch archetype so often used.  It works well here too.

No new spells, but none were expected to be honest. 

This one packs quite a bit into six or so pages of content.

Call of the Wild - The Witch Class and Archetypes for Harnessing Primal Power (5e)

This one a bit larger at 35 pages. It is also PWYW with a suggestion of $2.99. This falls under my $0.10 per page rule of thumb so we are still good.  This book offers a lot of varied content. 

There are different sorts of animal-folk (beast folk, bear folk, cat folk), a full witch class (not a sorcerer build as I was expecting) complete with hexes and curses. There are also three Witchcraft "Practices", the Herbalist, the Pact Maker, and the Soulsplitter.

There are also new class options for all the D&D5 classes. There is a new Sorcerous Origin, the Hagborn, and three new Warlock Patrons/Matrons including Mother Nature.  

Both the Sorcerer and the Warlock could double as a witch.   

What might be fun for this one is choose one of the new races and make a coven of the Witch, Warlock, and Sorceror types here.  

This book also doesn't have any new spells which is a bit of surprise given how much else it has.  

Archetypes for D&D

This seven-page PWYW PDF covers five new archetypes for some D&D 5e classes.  Of interest to me are the Witch archetype for sorcerers and the Witch Hunter archetype for any martial-type class.

The witch gets some new spells (from other classes) and four new powers. If I were to use this with other witch classes I might call it a Witch-kin or a Witch-blooded.

This one also highlights one of my strong dislikes for DMSGuild.  The art on the cover for this comes from the book Four From Cormyr.  I could be mistaken, but I don't think that is in any of the approved art packs I have downloaded.  Some of the author's other titles also feature art that I know is not part of the approved packs.

DMSGuild Witch Project: 5e Warlocks as Witches

Yesterday I reviewed some DMSGuild Druid circles that would work as witches.  Today I am going to look at some Warlock Pacts that would work as witches. 

For many a witch is a distaff warlock, but as you can imagine that has never really worked for me.  That is not to say you can't do it. I am currently playing a very witchy warlock. In fact the whole point of the character is to see if I can get a witch-like experience of the Rules As Written warlock.   

For these reviews, I am still following my rules. 

Warlock Patron: The Witch

This PDF is one page (cover not included in the download).  It is a PWYW with a suggested price of $1.00.  

While it is called the Warlock Patron The Witch, I am not seeing much to differentiate it from other warlocks. Nor anything about it that is particularly witchy.  I was hoping for warlocks that make pacts with ancient witches and Witch Queens like Baba Yaga, or even Tasha/Iggwilv.  So some neat ideas here and there, but not pulled together well enough for me. 

Which is too bad, the cover art had a lot of promise.

Warlock Patron- Hala

Hala was the Goddess of Witches for Ravenloft.  She was introduced in the late 2nd Edition days along with the Ravenloft Witch. 

This PDF is three pages (1 cover, 1.5 content) and sells for PWYW, suggested $0.50. 

In this case the warlocks do choose Hala as their patron and we get a Warlock pact that is very, very similar to what we saw in 2nd Ed Ravenloft, Van Richten's Monster Hunter Compendium Vol. 3. It works so well in fact that this could be the model for other witchy-type warlocks.  

Easily worth the $0.50.

Gingerbread Witch

This one is a neat idea.  A Warlock with a special kind of patron to become a Gingerbread Witch, ala the witch from "Hanzel and Gretel."
This PDF is a straight sale of $0.75 and you get three pages of class features to the Warlock. There is also a Gingerbread familiar which is a nice touch.  Though I am less impressed with the art; the author uses the Gingerbread man from the movie "Shrek."  This is doubly disappointing given the number of public domain images that could have been used or artists out there that would have done art for this. 
While the idea has some merit I don't see a lot of people playing this as a class option long term.

Lastly, I have one that covers Warlocks, Druids, Sorcerers and Wizards all as witches.

A Witch with Options- Witch Character Options

This 9 page PDF is PWYW with a suggestion of $2.00.  It covers four different subclass archetypes that can be used as the witch.  

There is Druid: Circle of the Coven, which draws on the natural powers associated with the Fey.  Sorcerer: Witch Stigma, which is a sorcerer with faerie blood, or witch blood if you prefer. Warlock: Haggardly Pact which is a pact with hags and finally the Wizard Arcane Tradition: Coven, which is similar to the witch kit found in AD&D 2nd ed or the witch subclass for wizards in D&D 4e.

Each one is like viewing the witch through the lens of the stated class. Each one also provides something unique, but also each one is an incomplete picture.  I think what might be fun is to have a coven of five witches, each one represented by a subclass here and one more as a Witch class. OR create a witchy subclass for the cleric.

That would be fun to try. 

DMSGuild Witch Project: 5e Druids as Witches

Back in the days of AD&D I was really taken by the Druid.  Part of it was my own self-style Anglophilia and Celtophila, but another part was that the class was not only so very, very close to the type of witch I wanted to play, it was also a good example of taking a pre-Middle Ages archetype and making it work in D&D.  As a then fan of the work of Margaret Murray, this appealed to me.   Yes, yes I know that her thesis and premise has been booted from academics. That is fine and the way it should be, but it also works fine in my games.  

So today I thought let's have a look at Druids as Witches in D&D 5.  For the first time since 1st Ed AD&D the Druid is close to the witch archetype again.

I am still following my rules as I mentioned here.

Druidic Circle: Circle of Witchcraft

This pdf is three pages and is a PWYW price, with a suggestion of $1.00.  

There is a cover and a page of legal, so only one page is dedicated to the class.  This witch is a Druid of the Circle of Witchcraft.  The witch gains Ritual Spellcasting, a bonus cantrip, and some powers.  At level 6 there is a Blood Sacrifice option, Speak with Dead at 10th, and an "Occult Power" at 14th level. 

It is interesting, but there is really not a lot here.

3 Archetypes #04 - Druid

This PDF is four pages and costs $1.00. This one offers three druid circles, the Circle of Rebirth, the Circle of Seasons, and the Circle of Witchcraft.  

The Circle of Witchcraft has some interesting features.  You gain a familiar, your wild shape can old become older or younger versions of your self, and you gain some new circle spells.

There are also powers at 6th, 10th and 14th level (like all druid Circles). These are Coven Ward, Evil Eye and Deathly Gaze respectively. 

In general, I like this Circle of Witchcraft better than the first one. I think the first one is good for a Blood Witch like archetype and the second better for the nature priestess, Ban Drui, type.

Both could be used. 

DMSGuild Witch Project: The Witch - A 5E Class

We continue this first full week of October with full witch classes from the DMSGuild.  

I grabbed this one because I rather liked the cover. Let's hope the text can live up to my expectations.  For those following, I have set up some rules for myself that you can see here.

The Witch - A 5E Class

This PDF is listed as 9 pages, but the revised PDF is actually 13. There is a cover page, but the rest is content.  Unlike many of the other products on DMSGuild this one has it's own style of layout.  In truth, it is a nice change of pace.

We get all the expected elements for a full class for 5e; level advancement charts, quick builds, as well class and spell information.  This witch is a Wisdom caster.  

A couple of things stick out.  One, this witch needs a special sort of spell focus known as a Staff of Hexes.  Without it she can't cast spells.  Also this witch has something called "Magicka" points.  So a little different than other casters.

The archetypes or subclasses for this witch are called different "Wonders"; ie "Wonder of the Grimoire", "Wonder of the Cauldron", "Wonder of Voodoo", "Curse of the Hag" (not Wonder of the Hag), "Wonder of the Hedge Witch", "Wonder of the White Witch", and "Wonder of Prophecy".  While I am not overly fond of the name I do like what they do.  I think I would have gone with "Path of the ..." myself.

The archetypes seem well balanced and thought out.  

There is a spell list, but no new spells.  There is no art, save for the cover.

This is another PWYW item with a suggestion of $2.00.

The layout is crisp and very utilitarian. It doesn't scream "Witch" to me, nor does it feel "D&D." Although it is attractive and very functional.

I certainly would try a couple of these archetypes/subclasses out.  Some interesting ideas.

DMSGuild Witch Project: D&D Witch Class From David Belmonte

Another full class today.  This time one that is based on the classic Dragon Magazine #5 and #20 witches. 

The rules for my reviews are here.

D&D Witch Class From David Belmonte

I am, without a doubt, a huge fan of the witches for Dragon Magazine. I have spent hours reading and rereading those articles. I have many witch characters I have made using those rules and spent many, many more hours playing them.  So if you say that your class is based on those, you have my attention.

The Witch Class from David Belmonte is a 10 (1 cover, 1 title, 1-page addendum, 7 pages content) page PDF that is Free on DMSGuild.  So the price point is already good. It also presents a full witch class.

The pdf is sparce really. There is no art save for the cover art and the artist is not credited. 

The witch in this case is a Wisdom spellcaster. (They were Intelligence and Wisdom in Dragon #20).  

The powers this witch gets are in line with the witch from Dragon #20. Though the witch in Dragon got a lot more powers, this witch is a little more inline with the D&D 5 rules.  There are no subclasses listed even if the obvious choice would have been High and Low Order witches with some different powers.

There are 8 new spells.  One of the Spells "Oracle" only works "in obscure woods"  whatever that is supposed to mean.  

So nice effort, but it falls a little short for me.  Though it is tough to argue the price I guess.

The Sky is Falling. Again.

So there is a new bit of errata out for D&D5.  Nothing new there, in today's Internet age errata is easy to get and often flows out easy enough. For some reason, this latest one has some of the old-school crowd up in arms. Again.  Let's see what it is all about.

This is the Errata for Volo's Guide to Monsters. A book that is described by all accounts as optional. 

What does it say exactly? Let's have a look.

Kobold Traits (p. 119). In the Ability Score Increase trait, the text has changed to read “Your Dexterity score increases by 2.”
The adjustment to Strength has been removed.

Orc Traits (p. 120). In the Ability Score Increase trait, the text has changed to read “Your Strength score increases by 2 and your Constitution score increases by 1.” The adjustment to Intelligence has been removed.

Orc Traits (p. 120). The Menacing trait has been replaced with the following trait:

Primal Intuition. You have proficiency in two of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, and Survival.

Ok. So this is all for characters. Optional characters. 

Checking online...oh. For fucks sake.

A message to my fellow 50+-year-old gamers. Lighten the fuck up.
Seriously. You all look like a bunch of Chicken Littles, running around screaming about the damn sky is falling.

Wizards of the Coast doesn't care what people who don't buy their product think, to be honest. 

The world didn't end when the whole Oriental Adventures debacle happened back in July.  Everyone was claiming it was the start of censorship and that Wizards would start taking down or editing older books. Censorship! Censorship! CENSORSHIP!!

These optional rules, in an optional rule book for two races that 99% of you would never allow in the first place in a system you never play has fuck-all to do with you.

In D&D5 there are 15 standard races with 28 sub or variants for a total of 34 choices. None of which have negative ability mods. The only two that did have them were in a supplement and those two are being edited to come into line with the other 34 choices. These are two outliers. They are being brought back into line.

How is this any different than say a new rule in Savage Worlds?  Or even in Monopoly? 

Yet, people are losing their shit online and looking like a bunch of idiots. 

The OSR gets a bad reputation online for the reactions of a few. This is just another example.  On one hand, the old-school community will claim not to care or even pay attention to what WotC does with D&D and then turn around and freak out when they release a rule errata that many in the 5e gaming community might just ignore.

So, stop freaking out all the time. 

DMSGuild Witch Project: The Witch from Greg Baxter

Today I want to focus on a Witch class proper.  I grabbed this one a bit ago and it has been languishing on my harddrive ever since.

Again, here are my rules for these reviews of this series. 

A lot of pdfs on DMSGuild are named "The Witch" and I guess I am not really any better on DriveThruRPG, so to distinguish them I am going to include the author's name in the titles.

The Witch from Greg Baxter

This is an eleven-page PDF (8 pages of content, 1 cover, 1 title, 1 legal) that sells for $1.33 on DMSGuild (PWYW, suggested). So just a little over that 10 cents per page rule of thumb.

This product covers an entire witch base class.

These witches are very tied in with Hags and have the first witches as human women that have broken free from their transformation into hags. 

The main ability of these witches is Intelligence. 

The subclasses for this witch are Haglore Scholar, Athame Witch, and Rune Witch.  They have a lot of flavor, to be honest, and would be fun to try out.

No new spells, but the spell lists are rather extensive covering the Player's Handbook and many of the other sourcebooks.

The art is minimal, but at least there are credits to the artists. 

All in all there are some fun options here and I'd give them a try

Kickstart Your Weekend: Bitchin Chimera and the Jaquays' Archive

Quite the collection today!

Lost Tomb of the Bitchin' Chimera - Dead Milkmen RPG Module

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/justinsirois/lost-tomb-of-the-bitchin-chimera-dead-milkmen-rpg-module?ref=theotherside

The Dead Milkmen are releasing a D&D adventure about a "Bitchin Chimera." Do I really need to tell you more than that? No idea if Tony Orlando and Dawn, Beelze-bubba, Mojo Nixon, or a Punk Rock Girl will appear. 

Judges Guild Deluxe: Dark Tower, Caverns of Thracia, & More

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1409961192/judges-guild-deluxe-dark-tower-caverns-of-thracia-and-more?ref=theotherside

Ok, first and foremost this Kickstarter will not benefit any of the current racist owners of the Judges Guild.  This collects some of the best material of the early days of JG and all written by Jennell Jaquays. Some very, very solid stuff here, and Goodman Games puts out a solid product.

and finally one more look at this one now that it has made it's funding goal.

Hellbringers: The Sacred Heart

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hellbringers/hellbringers-the-sacred-heart?ref=theotherside

All are ending soon!

DMSGuild Witch Project: Witches of Rashemen

Today I have three products again that work well with each other, but this time they are not by the same author.  

These products all deal with the area of the Forgotten Realms known as "The Unapproachable East" and Rashemen in particular.  This is of course one of the strengths of doing a product for the DMSGuild as opposed to doing it via the OGL; the ability to access Wizard's IP to use. 

While that is certainly attractive in some cases, I much prefer to use the OGL.  But if these authors had then we not have these products.

Again, here are my rules for these reviews of this series. 

The Great Dale Campaign Guide

This one is huge and has ten authors. The pdf and hardcover book fills it's 144 pages with full-color art and details on all sorts of details on the Great Dale section of the Unapproachable East.  This book actually rivals such books from WotC like The Sword Coast guide and the Icewind Dale. This book covers the people of the lands with new classes (sub-classes), new backgrounds, new feats as well as new spells and magic items. The lands are covered with geography, history, factions, friends, and foes.  There are guides for playing in the lands as well.  The author's introduction sets the stage for the book AND I think it also a good selling point for why people would want to use the DMSGuild rules over the OGL.  

In the case of this book it works well.  I also appreciate that authors not only took the time to properly credit the artists, the obtained commissions for some art as well.  This more than justifies the $19.95 price tag for the PDF.  It is also one of the few DMSGuild books I would want as a hardcover too.  If I played in the Realms more.  If I ever get a Realms 5e going then this will be on my list for getting the hardcover version.

While the Witches of Rashemen are mentioned, there is no "Witch" class.  Plenty of Warlock and Wizard sub-classes though.

Spells of the Unapproachable East

This is a modest PDF that punches above its weight class.  It gives us 13 pages of 5e style spells that are conversions of earlier spells from the Unapproacble East area.  A few I recognized from Unapproachable East (3.5) and from Spellbound (2e).  No art, but 39 spells that were not part of the D&D 5 corpus at the time the PDF was made.  All of that for just a PWYW of $0.50.  Not to bad really. 

Again, no Witch class in this one. But plenty of spells.

Homebrewed Class: Wychlaran Witch

Ah! Now here is what I have been wanting.  You can't write about witches in D&D as long as I have and not come across the Wychlaran Witch, the Witches of Rashemen.  It was one of the reasons I finally put down my Greyhawk books to see what this "young upstart" of the Forgotten Realms was about.

This PDF is modest, only 8 pages, written by Bryan Williams.  It covers the Wychlaran Witch class as a full class.  It covers the class and all the class features, but it is missing the advancement tables and spells per level. It looks and reads like it should be akin to a sub-class of the Sorcerer, and that works to a degree, still I would have liked to see the table.  There is a section on new equipment, which is good, and 13 new spells.  I supposed the advantage to this particular PDF is if you have a Witch class you like you can use this in conjunction with it to create a more witch-y Wychlaran.  So that is a bonus in it's favor.

Also the PDF is PWYW with a listed price of $0, but I say use my guideline of ¢10 per page and give the author ¢80 (or ¢60 for the actual content).  For less than...well just about everything, you can have a class and some new spells.

DMSGuild Witch Project: The Hedgewitch

Let's start this off with two products that are used in conjunction.

As a reminder the "rules" for reviews are here, http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2020/10/the-dmsguild-witch-project.html

The Hedgewitch (player class) by PCSpinner  and Covens (for the Hedgewitch) by PCSpinner 

Both products feature the same cover art with some color variation. 

The Hedgewitch PDF is a PWYW with a suggestion of $1.00 for 9 pages.  
Covens is $0.50 for 4 pages.

It looks like the math here is about ¢10 a page. Let's see if that holds up across the DMSGuild titles. 

Both come in standard format and printer-friendly format.

The Hedgewitch is true to its name and presents a Hedgewitch class.  She gets spell levels up to level 5 only. The class has a nice variety of features and powers and all have a really nice witchy feel to them. 

The "sub-classes" or archetypes of the hedgewitch are "covens" which is exactly what I would do and would expect since "Traditions" were taken by the Wizards class. There is a nic variety here.

The layout and art look really nice. I think some of it is public domain art and photos. At least they look a little familiar. 

There are no "new" spells, but it does use spells that were new at the time of publication.  

Covens for the Hedgewitch is similar in terms of art, layout, and options.  This pdf offers another four covens to use with the Hedgewitch.

So a couple of thoughts.

These easily could have been combined into one product, but I think I see the rationale for keeping them separate.  Either way it is fine.

The layout and art is really nice, the creator spent some time on this and it shows. This was released four years ago and I thought the creator would have done more, but I only see six total titles in the DMSGuild.  The inclusion of printer-friendly versions is a very nice touch.

I would try this class out. I think there are some good ideas here.  

ETA: The Hedge witch class was taken down since I wrote this review.

The DMSGuild Witch Project

October is here!  I am not sure about you, but my thoughts have turned to Halloween.  Ok, that’s not true. I was thinking about Halloween back in August.  But since most everyone else is now thinking about Halloween I thought it might be nice to delve into reviews.

My kids have been wanting me to create a 5e Witch class ever since 5e came out. I have not done it because, well, I think I can get out of the warlock and druid and some deft multiclassing the witch character I want.  Presently I am playing a wizard who also has the magical scholar background that is working out well.  I am also playing multiclass warlock/paladin to cover a “Green Knight” and Warlock that has been picking up various feats from sorcerer, wizard, and bard to get a more witchy feel.  But since I play so rarely (I am always the DM) it is hard for me to get out of these characters what I want.  Plus I feel the need to playtest everything.

So with Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything on the near horizon, I have turned to the DMSGuild for ideas.

There are so many witch classes on the DMSGuild I figure I would try a few. And I have. And my experiences...well...let’s just say they have been all over the place.

Now, I am planning to review these witch classes and witch related materials.  BUT I want to set some ground rules for myself.  

The Rules

I normally feel a little bad when reviewing someone else’s witch class.  Not to be too blunt, but there is just no way they have been writing about this as long as I have. So I can’t knock them down for missing something that is obvious to me, but maybe not to someone else.

Also, I have to remember that these publications, by their very nature, are amateur. I can’t expect high levels of layout, art, or design in most of these.  Yes, there is some absolutely stunning pdfs there in terms of production values and art.  But most of these are not going to be at that level; most of the books there are not at that level period.

In truth, art is going to be a big issue since a lot of the PDFs I have grabbed seem to have a lot of “borrowed” art.   I’ll mention art issues as they come up. 

The price point also seems to be an issue. A lot of these products are priced much higher than similar-sized ones on DriveThruRPG.  Like the art, I’ll talk about the price if it is a big issue for the item. My mental comparison on price here is going to be about ¢10 per page. 

I want to give each product a fair shot, given that I know that many of these could be the first effort of the author/designers.

Some products I’ll be reviewing here are quite small. Others are linked to other products.  Some others still are naturally paired with other products.  In any case, I have bought and downloaded enough to cover the entire month.

I am going to leave this page like this with the rules and what I am doing so I can link back to it with each review.

With each class/pdf I am going to be looking for the following:

• Is it a playable class?
• What new things does it offer?
• How “Witchy” is it?
• Are there any new powers, feats, or spells?

My goal is to find something to recommend for each product and no to unfairly compare it to other, more polished witch products.

I might also make a distinction between a "witch" and a "Witch" or class that can act like a witch vs a class named Witch.  This is a distinction that might only matter to me, but hey, this is my blog.