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Aryalómë
Senior Scribe

USA
666 Posts

Posted - 24 Jun 2012 :  04:09:32  Show Profile Send Aryalómë a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Other than the sexist Hathrens of Rashemen, do we have any lore of witches (both female AND male) outside of that land? How are they received by communities? How do their practices differ from region to region?

If there are no witches or orders or covens, how might one go about creating one that would fit in with the old lore (around 2e and 3/3.5e)?

I will also be posting this as a question to Ed.

I really hope there are Flemeth-type witches

sfdragon
Great Reader

2285 Posts

Posted - 24 Jun 2012 :  04:35:07  Show Profile Send sfdragon a Private Message  Reply with Quote
None to my knowledge, unless of course witch circles that are exile hathrans and or renegade durthans outside of Rashemen.

if their are any, by what do you mean by witch, female spellcaster like the term implies or do you mean like a cabal of spellcasters with a patron that may or may not be a divine or infernal or guild of arcane spellcasters?

if its the latter, than there are countless of wizard/sorcerer guilds ross faerun.



not sure on if it's a spellcaster with a pact group( ie warlock class)

or if its the witch out of the heroes of the feywild book.

why is being a wizard like being a drow? both are likely to find a dagger in the back from a rival or one looking to further his own goals, fame and power


My FR fan fiction
Magister's GAmbit
http://steelfiredragon.deviantart.com/gallery/33539234
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Aryalómë
Senior Scribe

USA
666 Posts

Posted - 24 Jun 2012 :  04:43:15  Show Profile Send Aryalómë a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Not the very erroneous female spell caster image (witches are of either gender). I'm talking about like the sort-of traditional witch type of spell caster. It's kind of hard to explain right now, but if you applied both male witches with your female witches, then that would probably be close to what kind of witch I'm getting at.

I did get inspired by the witch subclass from HotF. I like how they presented it, so that is very close to what I'm getting at, though I'm sure Ed (if he does indeed have witches other than Hathrens) has witches very similar to those.
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sfdragon
Great Reader

2285 Posts

Posted - 24 Jun 2012 :  04:54:31  Show Profile Send sfdragon a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Well lets see, the FR has existed for well over 25 years, back in the 1e days up to know.

I don't know if there was a witch class back then, as all I knew it was a term directed at female spellcasters... or hags.

but you want the wiccan type both male and female type?? in anycase I'm not sure.

but my guess would be around the realms where the veil between the planes are thin such as Shadowdale...

why is being a wizard like being a drow? both are likely to find a dagger in the back from a rival or one looking to further his own goals, fame and power


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Kentinal
Great Reader

4684 Posts

Posted - 24 Jun 2012 :  07:08:48  Show Profile Send Kentinal a Private Message  Reply with Quote
In Salem, Massachusetts males were killed because there were convicted of being a Witch, a male Witch is not just a Wicca thing the concept goes back much longer.

As to the question of Witches in the Realms of both genders, there have been some splat books in 2nd that appeared to define that class. 2nd Edition, much like 4th, appeared to require that all classes must be portable to any game setting.

"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon
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Aryalómë
Senior Scribe

USA
666 Posts

Posted - 24 Jun 2012 :  13:05:41  Show Profile Send Aryalómë a Private Message  Reply with Quote
NO. No Wicca, please.

Anyway, there isn't any actual lore on them in FR? It would be kind of disappointing to not have any because witches are a classical fantasy/magical concept that FR could hugely capitalize on.

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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 24 Jun 2012 :  14:01:26  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
My old DM had a cabal of witches who followed Zhengyi, Witch-King of Vaasa.

Essentially, they learned their magic from fiends Zhengyi had summoned. They were rather barbaric as a group...but well versed in scrying, curses (from afar), and summonings as well. Their "battle-magic" was comprised mostly of fire magic they learned from demons.

When we finally defeated Zhengyi, the whole group fell apart and they scattered. I didn't really encounter any of them again in that game, though I was aware that many of them had fled to lands like the Moonsea and the deep woods of the Dalelands.

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 24 Jun 2012 :  14:02:53  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
You could also look into Nar Demonbinders as a type of witch...the Witches of Vaasa I was talking about before were primarily Nar I think...though I honestly never investigated them that much.

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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Ayrik
Great Reader

Canada
7966 Posts

Posted - 24 Jun 2012 :  16:01:09  Show Profile Send Ayrik a Private Message  Reply with Quote
AD&D 2E PHBR4: Complete Wizard's Handbook presented a Witch kit. It was sadly full of negative stereotyping: witches were always female, cursed or consigned to some sort of pact with evil fiends (who would get what they want, one way or another), and could be readily identified by certain physical characteristics/deformities. Basically: an interesting (and powerful!) kit which turned your PC into a Hollywood-Halloween character.

Any (female) wizard could take this kit, it seemed like they were basically an evil version of hedge wizards, many villages had one nearby.

[/Ayrik]
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Kentinal
Great Reader

4684 Posts

Posted - 24 Jun 2012 :  17:03:21  Show Profile Send Kentinal a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I knew I daw the kit, just was not sure was FR specific. I also seem to recall Evermeet had a witch kit, or one close to what would be called a witch, however Evermeet is hiding from me now.

"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
31701 Posts

Posted - 25 Jun 2012 :  01:55:30  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Kentinal

I knew I daw the kit, just was not sure was FR specific. I also seem to recall Evermeet had a witch kit, or one close to what would be called a witch, however Evermeet is hiding from me now.

Are you referring to the Totem-Sister?

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