Unaligned Witches

Those who wield ritual and cyclical unaligned magic.

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Neizrechena

Type: Mother

A neizrechena is a witch who communes with spiritual silence in order to find her magic.

Many witches believe in either powerful spirits or some sort of deity. Neizrechena are usually followers of some unaligned deity whom they honor as an aspect of the Divine in all things. Some honor inmortal beings or have a spiritual faith that does not honor a specific Divine, but they all have some deep religious faith.

Most neizrecheni are from Ottavia. Their faith is not organized or part of any broader religion, but personal. They often learn it from a mentor, another neizrechena, but they are always encouraged and taught to make it individual to themselves. This faith is practiced internally, through behavior and actions, routines and quiet rituals, and any prayers are done entirely silently. Their silence speaks volumes. They are not proselytizers, preachers, or outward in their faith in any way.

They practice witchcraft, often as part of a small community, but they keep their faith to themselves, letting others assume what they will. They keep their herb gardens, provide for those who come to them, craft spells and rites, and let their reputations be what they will. There is an almost passive acceptance of it. But they do not violate the tenets of their faith, ever, if possible, and from this, though silent, they gain their power.

The abilities they gain will vary depending on the faith they have. Click here for a list of religions. Mot will be an unaligned religion, but if no other player has chosen fey, celestial, or elemental, the neizrechena may choose one of those religions. Consult the GM for abilities after choosing.

PRO -1 ATH -1 STR -2 AWA +3 WIL +3 PRS +1 STH -1 ESS +3

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Pochitanie

Type: Daughter

A pochitanie is a witch who uses numerological magic to control light.

Technically, a pochitanie is not a classic witch, but rather a woman or non-man who dares to learn the forbidden art of mathematics in a patriarchal culture. They study in secret, learning from other women or non-men or men who break the rules, and spend years finding the secrets of math, numerology, and physics. After years of forbidden investigation, they begin to be able to wield the formulae of magical math to control light itself.

Numerology is usually a divinatory practice, but pochitanie and others wield it differently, taking the numerological values of basic structures of the universe to predict and influence the movement of light. Though they are centuries away from the study of optics and physics that will reveal photons and so on, they have a mystical understanding of light and its movement. They know it is incredibly fast, and that it can be influenced magically by calculating the value of dark and light in a space.

Every spell they cast is an equation. They must have the numerological value of at least seven people or things in a space no more than 7’x7’x7’, then the value of the amount of light and darkness within it - a deeply unscientific practice, but one with magical power. They then apply these values to get special numbers that evoke specific properties:

• -1: reversal of light, creation of darkness
• 0: negation of light and dark, swapping places
• 1: invocation of light, a mote of illumination
• 2: doubling of light or dark, caster’s choice
• 3: three is magic; three is trinity, three is finding
• 7: seven is the value of limitation, setting the space
• 10: ten is the source of light, a brighter illumination
• 11: eleven is magic’s culmination, eleven is enhancement of magic
• 12: twelve is the number of the dark
• 13: thirteen is the number of enlightenment
• 101: 101 is the number of mathematics, a prime number, a number that quickens calculation
• Infinity: this is the greatest number, granting one moment of lightspeed, but cannot be used more than once without a great deal of rest between, and it comes with many dangers

Pochitanie use a basic alphanumeric that is based on the alphabet of the culture they come from, but for game purposes, we will go with standard English (A = 1, Z = 26).

PRO / ATH -1 STR -2 AWA +4 WIL +1 PRS -2 STH -1 ESS +2

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Spiritwitch

Type: Daughter

Spiritwitches are those who speak with and channel the power of invisible spirits, the unseen, intangible spirits that carry the power of belief in the world.

As the world of Shem is in the Spirit Realm, it is full of intangible spirits as well as the visible, playable ones. The intangible spirits are weaker manifestations of belief that connect to anything that can be believed in, whether a concept, a deity, an inmortal being, or some other figure, even other people. Spiritwitches are raised or trained to connect to spirits who are connected to the concept of witchcraft itself, the role of women or non-men who serve the community as figures of support, wisdom, and power, focal points of magic, faith, and insight.

A spiritwitch is always connected to unaligned spirits; fundamentally, these are spirits of conceptual faith. They are spirits of those who believe in something other than Divine or inmortal beings, something without an individual or pantheon, but instead a philosophy or idea. In this case, the philosophy is the traditions and practices of witches, usually in Ottavia.

Those who are taught to be spiritwitches are trained before they come of age and given a test when they become adults, being part of a ritual that calls the spirits. If they pass the test or choose to follow the path, they are granted magical abilities:

• Spiritspeech: they can speak to the intangible spirits of witchcraft.
• Spirit channeling: they can channel the spirits through their ESS, invoking a specific effect.
• Witch’s sight: they can see things they should not be able to see, using spirits to spy on others.
• Rite of protection: they can call spirits via a rite and give someone(s) protections from a specific aligned magic.
• Healing tincture: they can call a spirit into a tincture to provide healing.
• Spell of seven spirits: they can call upon seven powerful intangible spirits and ask seven questions of them, but they can only do this once per month.

Some magic will vary depending on how they define their faith. The player will work with the GM to come up with the specifics, as the details will be individualized.

PRO -1 ATH +1 STR -1 AWA +3 WIL +2 PRS +2 STH -1 ESS +3

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Zmeoaică

Type: Mother

A zmeoaică is the “wife” of a zmeu, a dragon, a woman who has been bound to a dragon to serve in a specific way, usually tending the dragon’s hoard and helping and supporting the dragon’s other servants. In Spokojno, they are honored, but in other areas, they are viewed as perverse and terrible, as many take the “wife” term literally.

To become a zmeoaică, one must be proven worthy to a dragon. The dragon will test anyone who wishes to be their “wife” (truly just a non-male female servant in a specific support role) with five trials: the Trial of Discipline (keeping to a routine defined by the dragon); the Trial of Territory (honoring the boundaries of the dragon’s territory and protecting them); the Trial of Power (showing strength in all facets of being); the Trial of Majesty (showing leadership skills); and the Trial of Accumulation (bringing the dragon an adequate dowry). If proven worthy, the zmeoaică will be granted magic from the dragon:

• Dragonflight: the witch can grow draconic wings and fly temporarily.
• Flame wall: the witch can invoke a wall of flame once per week to guard herself or others.
• Shining stone: the witch can make any mundane stone shine as bright as the sun temporarily.
• Fang spell: the witch can grow massive fangs temporarily.
• Theft spell: the witch can cast a spell to steal something larger than she could carry.
• Shapeshift: the witch can take the shape of a lizard-like being temporarily.
• Gateway: the witch can open a portal to the dragon’s den from almost anywhere.

Zmeoaici are uncommon, but they are powerful and loyal to their draconic overlords. If the player does not wish to be a servant of the dragon of Spokojno, they can consult the GM to come up with a different draconic lover.

PRO +1 ATH +1 STR +1 AWA +2 WIL +2 PRS -1 STH -1 ESS +1