Witchcraft

This is a game about witches. The setting is up to you; perhaps it is the 16th-century European countryside, 1980s’ New York City, or a biodome in the year 3005. No matter what you choose, two things are constant: you are a witch, and people hate witches.

Download the character sheet (PDF)

Note: this game is based on witches as portrayed in films (particularly Nietzchka Keene’s The Juniper Tree and Anna Biller’s The Love Witch). The rules and mechanics of the game bear little resemblance to Wiccan and Pagan culture, nor do they intend to.

🕯 Standard Rules 🕯

After agreeing on a setting and creating your characters, the GM will turn over three tarot cards to begin the game. The GM will interpret their meaning and use them as a guide to setting the opening scenario. If you do not own tarot cards, then the GM can simply begin the game like any other table-top RPG. The game works like most: the GM describes the situations, surroundings, and people you encounter, and you describe what you wish to do. There is no special “combat mode,” all actions can be taken at any time.

When you take an action, roll a d20 and add the modifier that applies to the situation.

• Mind for intelligence, persuasion, concentration, et cetera.
• Body for physicality, dexterity, strength, et cetera.
• Soul for grit, wisdom, spirituality, et cetera.

Additionally, if the situation fits your character-defining skill, add your Proficiency modifier. If the action is one you are particularly situated for, the GM may tell you to “roll with advantage,” meaning roll two d20s and take the higher value (adding the relevant modifiers after). “Rolling with disadvantage” occurs when the opposite is true, and requires that you take the lower value of the two.

The GM will weigh the result of your roll with the difficulty of the situation and determine how successful you are. Sometimes this means you will succeed, succeed with complications, partially succeed, or fail altogether. When you fail a roll, mark a tick next to your Proficiency stat, and increase the stat by one every time it tallies up to the current value (it takes 1 tick mark to increase Proficiency from 1 to 2, but it takes 8 tick marks to increase it from 8 to 9).

Don’t worry too much about health, it isn’t really a part of the game. On occasion, your character may injure themselves, and the GM will instruct you to roll with disadvantage for actions that the injury interferes with. In the case of a severe injury, your character will need to seek immediate care to avoid death.

🔮 Magic 🔮

As a witch, you are able to cast charms on other people (but not yourself). You can cast any charm at any time by rolling a d8 and adding your Influence modifier. Similarly to non-magic actions, add a tick mark to your Proficiency stat when you fail. When you succeed, increase your Influence stat by one. However, successfully casting a charm does not ensure that its spell will take effect—you will not know whether or not the charm has had an impact. A list of charms can be found in the Table of Charms section.

Like any tool, magic is not good or bad. It is the intentions under which magic is used that can be positive or negative. When you cast a charm, you cast light into the world, or you cast a shadow. When you reach an Influence of 13, the GM will present you with a selection of optional paths to take (explained further below). The options offered will be based on your tendency toward light or shadow magic. The alignment of each charm is listed next to it in the Table of Charms; however, extenuating circumstances may change its pull (i.e. using a calmness charm to make someone docile for personal gain). Magic you put out into the world always returns to you three-fold, so be wary of the consequences of using such charms.

You will be presented with a series of paths once you reach an influence of 13. These paths are listed in the Table of Paths and offer more powerful spells. You may only select one path, however, this does not affect what charms you are allowed to cast. Cast a spell at any time by rolling a d12 and adding your Influence modifier. Unlike charms, you will immediately know whether or not the spell was successful. Add one to Influence (on successes) or add a tick to Proficiency (on failures).

Listed next to each path is a “higher level” spell. These spells are also available to you, and operate almost identically to regular spells (aside from having a much larger effect). However, each time you use a higher-level spell, your Influence is reduced by 7, regardless of if it is successful or not. If your Influence dips below 13, you will not be able to use any spells form your path (higher level or regular) until you reach 13 again.

At an Influence of 21, you are able to select a secondary path. These abilities work the same as your primary path, except that you must maintain an Influence of 21 or greater (rather than 13) to use them.

🧙‍♀️ Creating a Character 🧙‍♀️

Begin by downloading the character sheet and developing a concept for your character. Fill in their name and a description of what makes them unique. Under “Skill,” write a character-defining skill that they possess (which you will include your Proficiency modifier when doing). Make sure the skill is quite broad, such as “talking,” “fighting,” or “crafting tools.” Leave “Path” blank for now, you will fill it in later.

To determine your starting stats, roll a d6 three times. Assign each roll to either Mind, Body, or Soul, and subtract 3 to determine the modifier (for example, if you rolled 5, 2, and 3, the modifiers you would assign are 2, -1, and 0). Assign the higher modifiers to the stats your character is better at. Assign Proficiency and Influence a value of one to start. Make sure you write these in pencil as they will change throughout the game.

An example of a filled-out character sheet (PNG).

✨ For the GM ✨

Many other manuals have done a much better job of describing how to be a successful Game Master, and I will not try to out-do them. In this game, story and character are more important than strictly following the ruleset, so treat them at your discretion so long as the players are having fun.

When it comes to keeping track of a player’s light/shadow alignment, feel free to either precisely count each instance of magic or instead just keep a general “feel” for what they’ve leaned towards. Players who cast roughly the same amount of light and shadow magic, or who have a more ambiguous moral compass, should be presented with the “neutral” path options.

Similar to the tracking of player-alignment, when deciding how the magic they put out into the world manifests and comes back at them, both vaguely (remembering and applying) and precisely (tracking and rolling) are fine. At every point, choose what works best for your GM-ing style, and what best serves the story.

One of the main stories this game seeks to tell is that of being from a misunderstood and subsequently prosecuted community. Regardless of the era or specifics of the mythology, women have been stoned, burned, and drowned for engaging in witchcraft. In this game, it is important that a majority of the world fears witches, and would take similar action against the players if they were to find out. Every spell and charm cast should be at the risk of exposure, and present real danger. This is not the belief of everyone, however, as there will be those who understand, accept, or even are in need of witches.

📖 Table of Charms 📖

📖 Table of Paths 📖

🌕 Light

🌓 Neutral

🌑 Shadow

🌎 Rejection

Also available to all players—regardless of alignment—is the option to reject magic completely. In this case, you can no longer cast charms of any kind. You develop the ability to detect magic, and at a higher level, dispel magic.