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3rd Movement - Witchcraft

Adapted from forum discussions with Josh.

Long before the Skyfire, long before the Empire, mankind existed in unspoilt communion with the world-that-is. The female principle of the Goddess was revered as the origin and closure of all things. This is the oldest religion. Witches are priestesses of the Goddess and keepers of the Triune Covenant. They gain great wisdom and power by immersing in the Aspects of the Goddess.

Witches of Goren

Goren is the Old Country, the nest of witchcraft. In Goren stands WITCHMOUNT wherein covens gather in council. However, today the Gorenites have turned from their witch women to embrace the new Sky God Faith. It is even said that witches have been burned at stake, for the highlands saints consider some aspects of the Goddess suspect and all of them false worship.

In Jošland, however, witchcraft remains as strong as ever: witch women advice and aid the people in their relations with each other and the two worlds. Witches live among the people and gather in covens for private worship. The bravest still travel to Witchmount like they did before the Year of Shadow; others look closer for meetings.

Gorenite witchcraft is usually only taught in a concerned manner to WITCHBLOODED individuals, which almost always means children of witches. Witches can marry, but that often means reducing their commitment to coven activities, so many have children out of wedlock.

An exception to the avoidance of marriage is the practice of TRIUNE MARRIAGE, a custom unique to Goren: clan chiefs and other important men of the community may, should they choose to do so, seek another wife from among witch women. This is usually encouraged by Gorenite covens, and most witches indeed consider only chieftains worthy enough mates for themselves. There also exists a belief in strengthening the blood by marriages among the accomplished.

Triune married witches do not settle down like normally married women in Goren do; they meet their husband as suits both parties, while the secular wife takes care of the chief’s household. The witch is expected to advice her husband, but any children he begets are her own to do with as she would. The children of the witchwife cannot inherit the chief and in theory there should be no animosity between the two wives, even while some sagas teach the opposite.

Male children of witch women usually go into secular crafts, following their fathers; children from triune marriages are often adopted as bastards to the chief’s household. WARLOCKS, male witches, are despised, and while the witch blood may run true in male children, teaching the art to the boy is never encouraged.

Her Husbands

Men do not practice witchcraft, as intimated above. Warlocks are feared and suspected of evil intent, for why else would a man want to wield the power of the Goddess himself, and why else would he want to resolve his affairs indirectly, without honor? Instead, men of Goren ask the womenfolk for advice in spiritual matters. And when they truly fear for themselves in front of the supernatural, they call on HER HUSBANDS, male deities of legend. These entities are not actively worshiped, however and grant no magic today.

The Triune Goddess

As all witches know, the Goddess has three aspects: Maiden, Mother and Crone. All women embody the Aspects throughout their natural lives, moving through them in order.

The first aspect is MAIDEN who is sinless and flawless, unblemished by the touch of morality. She inflames the passions of men – who seek purity – and she keeps the Harmonic Covenant with the natural world. She is rather than does, resists all and bends to none.

The second aspect is MOTHER who is weathered and strong, rooted to the real world. She rules and makes decisions, runs a household, cooks and cures, crafts and raises children to her will. She meets with the other women and finds the Covenant of Accord in their midst.

The third aspect is CRONE who is tough and wise, knowful of what is. She answers questions of things generally forgotten, guides the young and fights the fights others see not. She is a solitary figure, mindful of being and imposing the Covenant of Seeming upon the traditional beings.

The knowledge of the Aspect Abilities is an everyday thing for women, there need not be any witchery in being a good daughter, mother or grandmother. Neither does a woman need direct life experience to know these Abilities; most will have some little understanding of each of them long before (and after) it is their time to live in the prescribed role.

Tricks

Witchery starts with simple things, wisdom that is only barely magical. We call these TRICKS. Each Trick set is a little Secret about how the world is made.

As can be seen from the examples, Tricks really manifest as several little effects which can reflect different Aspects of the Goddess. These can be IMPROVISED: if the character encounters a situation where knowing the tricks to breath can be applied, the player can create a new trick for her bag. The limitations are really just that the trick has to draw on one of the Aspects the character knows, and it can’t be strong and central enough to be considered a Secret on its own; tricks are less important and powerful than feasible Secrets by definition. (Note that “smaller than Secret” is ultimately campaignspecific, just as judging individual Secrets for strength is.)

An improvised trick can be written down by the player if he wants, just like the example tricks are, but he doesn’t have to. The difference is that if he does, the Story Guide has less grounds for complaint next time the same trick might be used. This is not to say that tricks are any more immutable than anything else in the crunch landscape; tricks can be turned into Arcana (explained later) and vice versa as the group’s sensibilities dictate.

Everybody can learn the tricks, and it doesn’t take that long to do so. They’re not useful without understanding of the Aspects, that’s all.

Creating and using Tricks in play

When creating new Tricks for play, choose the theme of the Tricks and pick one or two facets it has. There’s little need to try to define more than you immediately need.

A good idea for “weakening” a Trick in comparison to an equivalent Secret is to take into account the necessity of the Ability check, and perhaps give the Trick one point more of a Pool cost than you’d give it if it were a separate Secret. As a rule of thumb, utilizing a slightly exotic SECRET OF SPECIALTY via a trick is quite fine for my game; it’s a borderline-weak Secret for my typical crunch landscape anyway, adding an Ability check takes it into trick territory for sure.

On the other hand, if a player gets a good idea for a Trick application, but it’s too powerful, the Story Guide may choose to offer it as an Arcana later on, or even on the spot for witchblooded characters.

Traditional Gorenite witchcraft draws on anatomical themes for its Tricks, but perhaps other ways are possible as well. As Gorenite witches explain it, the world is the body of the Goddess, which makes it possible for the witch to manipulate like with like, the world with their own body.

Embodying the Aspects

Women who want to be witches worship the Goddess. They live according to their chosen Aspect and gain Her blessings. Sometimes they do this instinctually and without knowledge of witchcraft, although this is rare. Usually a witch will only embody one of the Aspects, the one that accords with her current role in life. Some witches manage two Aspects simultaneously, especially when their lives are in flux. A witch is considered to be embodying an Aspect as long as she has the Key of the Aspect in question. A serious witch will sometimes find that she needs to draw on the magic of an Aspect she does not embody. An old woman needs the powers of seduction, or a young one has to strike down her foes. Such a witch may RAISE THE ASPECT she needs by other means; some sample rituals are provided as Secrets. Actual witchcraft comes in the form of ARCANA, Secrets that the Goddess provides to her adherents. Each Arcana comes with a limiting BAN and an associated Aspect; the witch can only use the arcane power if she embodies the Aspect and upholds the ban, although she can teach the Secret to others regardless of either. Arcana looks like this:

Arcana of Maiden: Flight
The character can fly freely with the winds, coming down wherever the Goddess wills. Alternatively, she can take a token of earth and air with her to control the flight and go where she would; the flight lasts until she touches the ground. Tying her hair will prevent the witch from flying in this manner until the next nightfall; if her hair is cut, it needs to regrow before she can fly again.
Cost: 2 INSTINCT for flight, 1 more for control.
Requirement: Embody Maiden.

Arcanas might not spell it out, but the corresponding Aspect Ability is used if any conflicts arise over the use of the Arcana. Other Abilities may also play a role, depending on what the character is doing, exactly.

The Ability to develop Arcana via the SECRET OF WITCH BLOOD is considered the mark of the true witch in Goren. However, they may also be learned through ritual magic (below) or from other witches, usually in coven environment.

Goddess’s High Magic

Finally, there is one other facet to witchcraft, RITUAL MAGIC. It is usually only practiced by covens due to how exhausting it is, and how useful it is to have all Aspects of the Goddess represented in the ritual.

The ritual magic practiced by Gorenite witches is called COVENANT RITES due to the specific theological leverage the witches employ in contacting and treating with the Goddess; other traditions might have other ways to do ritual magic. The purpose is in any case singular, to communicate with the Goddess directly and consciously.

When the Covenant Rites are invoked, the coven can bring to motion several magical workings all at one time, unhindered by the limitations of Arcana. Witches are not rules-wise limited in advance as to the effects their workings may have; instead, they are limited by the following principles:

Aside from these limitations, there is little the covenant rites cannot accomplish, provided the witches are willing to pay the price and try as often as it takes to succeed.

Conducting the rites

The Covenant Rites are prepared with a successful RITUAL MAGIC (R) check, which prepares the ritual ground. This check result may be spent as bonus dice on further checks in the ritual. Only witches with the SECRET OF THE COVENANT RITES can take active part in the following rites, but others can participate by donating support: one Pool point per check may be drawn from a willing supporting participant instead of the main ritualists.

Preparing the rites can take a day or longer for an unsuitable place, while a previously sanctified place can be cleared much quicker. The rites themselves can last from an hour to a day or more, depending on the goals of the ritual.

Invoking the Goddess

The coven chooses which Covenants to call upon when they begin the rite. For each invoked Aspect, the embodying witch makes an Aspect Ability check and pays 7 points minus the check result from the associated Pool. Failed invocations may be repeated, but the cost is paid regardless, and failed attempts cause a penalty die to retries.

Ritual Activities

When the invocation has been successful, the witches may begin transforming the world. There are two purposes to ritual magic: drawing forth Arcana and creating ritual Workings. The witches have to cooperate on either, and can do either or both multiple times before closing their ritual down.

Nobody can leave the ritual space while the ritual is in progress. Leaving or otherwise disturbing the ritual ends any on-going ritual activity without effect and sends any finished phases AMISS: the Story Guide decides whether to bring the effects of such workings to fruition, when and in what manner.

Workings

When the witches want to make something happen in the world, they use WORKINGS. Each such working is worded as an Effect and created with one or more Aspect checks, depending on the covenants applied in the working.

Each individual working is described carefully and visualized by the witches, often in many different ways to ensure that the working can find a way to actualize in the world. The Pool cost of a ritual working depends on the covenant:

Keeping a working within only one Covenant requires careful visualization of the required magic, as the Story Guide takes care of pricing the magic, and he relies on his own vision of the working to do so. However, often the cheapest way of achieving one’s aims is to traverse through several covenants.

Drawing Forth Arcana

This is much like a ritual working, except that the witches prepare one among them to receive a specific Arcana (which somebody needs to design). This is done by visualizing the effects of the Arcana, which is again priced by the Story Guide according to the Covenant formulas. This does not have to bear relation to the costs of using the Arcana in question, only to how the witches visualize it.

If the drawing forth succeeds, the witch will gain the Arcana when the ritual is closed down, and may teach it freely to others as well.

Pool Payments

All Pool payments may be shared between witches in any way to which they agree during ritual magic. A witch might well find herself out of Pool points midway through a ritual regardless. She has two options: sacrifice in compensation, or abandon the working.

Sacrificing her own blood allows the witch to take on Harm equal in size to the amount of Pool she would pay in this way. Sacrificing the blood of others allows the witch to drain their Pools (any of them for any of hers) for her needs. Animals work as well as people for this purpose. This need not be fatal, but the bloodletting is difficult to control.

Finally, lay participants in the ritual can offer one appropriate Pool point per head into each check made in the ritual. I wouldn’t accept nameless extras here (it could become ridiculous), but would rather create a Secret for public rituals and their benefits.

Ritual Effects

Once a ritual Working has been paid for, it becomes an Effect (for no extra cost) for one witch who embodies the primary Aspect of the Working. These Effects persist after the ritual is finished, and bring about the magic the coven visualized.

The effect might be immediate, but it might also take a day or two to come about, depending on what the witches wanted: an animal attack against a hostile chief might happen the very next night, while the estrangement between two people could happen over a season, for example. The Story Guide has control over the pacing of the ritual magic, except for one thing: the next time the witch learns of the target of her magic, the magic has either succeeded or failed. A witch should thus not be too hasty in finding out whether her magic worked, so as to not force it to effect at an inopportune moment.

If the working targets a person directly or indirectly, the target can defeat the magic in ways that depend on the nature of the attack: a hostile animal attack could be beaten off by force of arms, for example. Conflicts against the magic are against the ritual Effect created by the witch. In whatever way the magic comes, the Effect value is what the victim has to match. Workings that nobody resists come about without fail, of course. Also, if the Working is forced to act in an awkward manner due to haste or foreknowledge by the target, the Story Guide may assign circumstance penalties to the Working: these are deducted directly from its value.

A powerful working with drastic consequences will probably be taken to an extended conflict by a player character victim. This works the way extended conflicts with Effects usually do, as far as the mechanics are concerned; the wise witch might send several Effects against powerful opponents to compensate for their frailty, or she might use the SECRET OF THE WARRIOR RITE to tie her own well-being into the working.

Abilities - Witchcraft

Maiden-Ways (I)
Knowledge of the role and tasks of the unmarried woman. Useful for enamoring and dissuading men and beasts, and for understanding the wilds.
Mother-Wit (V)
Knowledge of the role and tasks of the mother. Useful for household chores, raising children and leading with authority.
Crone-Wise (R)
Knowledge of the role and tasks of the old woman. Useful for scaring people, knowing the spirits and giving good advice.
Herbalism (R)
Gorenite women use many herbs and natural remedies in their everyday life, which reflects on their witchcraft as well. The Ability is useful for finding and preparing herbal cures, drugs and poisons of various sorts. The Gorenite lands are relatively bare, though, so the number of plants is not infinite; usually there is just one for each distinct purpose.
Ritual Magic (R)
Gorenite witchcraft does not involve rituals in its everyday application, but they take precedence at covens and actual worship. This Ability can be used to support other magical Abilities when they’re applied in a ritual context: deliberate tools, environment and action help to focus the magic. The Ability is also useful in interpreting strange rituals, developing new ones and might support PRAY (V) in some situations as well.

Secrets - Witchcraft

Secret of Raising the Maiden
The character may embody the Goddess Aspect of Maiden temporarily with a successful MAIDEN-WAYS (I) check. The result of the check becomes an Effect representing the persistence of the Aspect. The witch needs to engage in sexual intercourse weekly to retain the Aspect. The Aspect will also dissolve if the witch’s desirability is challenged by a RESIST (R) check that overcomes the Aspect Effect.
Cost: 3 INSTINCT
Secret of Raising the Mother
The character may embody the Goddess Aspect of Mother temporarily with a successful MOTHER-WIT (V) check. The result of the check becomes an Effect representing the persistence of the Aspect. The witch needs to craft a doll she dotes upon daily to retain the Aspect. The Aspect will also dissolve if the witch’s motherhood is challenged by a REACT (R) check that overcomes the Aspect Effect.
Cost: 3 VIGOR
Secret of Raising the Crone
The character may embody the Goddess Aspect of Crone temporarily with a successful CRONE-WISE (R) check. The result of the check becomes an Effect representing the persistence of the Aspect. The witch needs to perform significant blood-letting rites every season to retain the Aspect. The Aspect will also dissolve if the witch’s fearsome visage is challenged by an ENDURE (V) check that overcomes the Aspect Effect.
Cost: 3 REASON
Secret of the Warlock
The character can learn Aspect Abilities and initiate into Gorenite witchcraft despite being male. Also, the character can use the appropriate Aspect Abilities to masquerade as a female well enough to fool other people.
Secret of Potion-making
The character knows how to create POTIONS, Tricks that can be administered to others. The appropriate Trick is performed, and the check used to support a HERBALISM (R), HOUSEWORK (R) or other appropriate craft check, which then becomes an Effect; the Effect can be given to another character or stored for later need. Once consumed, the Effect replicates the Trick in question at the Effect’s level.
Cost: The cost of the Trick and the Effect.
Secret of Witch Blood
Witch blood runs strong in the veins of the daughters of Goren. Usually only witchbloods are initiated into covens. The benefit of the blood is that the character can improvise Arcana: whenever the player develops an improvisation that is too strong for a Trick, the Story Guide can declare it an Arcana instead, and one which the character can immediately learn. Thus the character can improvise Arcana.
Secret of the Covenant Rites
The character has the basic knowledge required for participating in Gorenite ritual magic, making her able to spend Pool and make Ability checks for ritual working.
Secret of Blood-letting
The character is skilled in blood rituals, and can make a RITUAL MAGIC (R) check to cause Harm to a ritual sacrifice and draw an equal number of Pool points from it, just like if she were shedding her own blood. The target has to beat the level of Harm with ENDURE (R) to stay conscious; if repeated to an unconscious victim, this is fatal, as is going over MORTAL (6) Harm.
Secret of the Warrior Rite
When the character creates a ritual Working in the Covenant Rites, she may connect herself to the Working, making checks and taking Harm through it, just like it was herself who took the form of the magic. A Working like this is controlled by the player in how and when it comes about; however, it may manifest in at most as many scenes as its Effect value indicates before dissipating. The character herself is only vaguely aware of what the Working is doing on her behalf; Harm manifests as dizziness and illness that drains her of life.
Requirement: SECRET OF THE COVENANT RITES
Secret of Archaic Rites
The character can use her Arcana through a Working to decrease its costs, provided that the Arcana’s Aspect is present in the ritual. Any part of the Working that is visualized to accord with a magic in her Arcana is not considered for the cost of the working. In this use her Arcana may target others than herself as well.
Requirement: SECRET OF THE COVENANT RITES

Tricks

Tricks of Breath
The character knows how breath, wind and life go together.
Maiden: The character’s singing is pleasing to both man and beast, even if clearly not high art. Use MAIDEN-WAYS (I) to replace MUSIC (I).
Cost: 1 INSTINCT
Mother: A successful MOTHER-WIT (V) check allows the character to gain one point of REASON or INSTINCT by calming her breath. Suffer a penalty die for each cumulative use per day.
Cost: 1 VIGOR
Crone: A successful CRONE-WISE (R) check allows the character to stop breathing and feign death. Turn the result into an Effect to carry it for several scenes.
Cost: 1 REASON
Tricks of Hair
Maiden: A successful MAIDEN-WAYS (I) check makes the character’s hair change in color and length.
Cost: None
Crone: A successful CRONE-WISE (R) check makes treated hair tough like steel wire, and sharp as well if she wants.
Cost: 1 REASON

Arcana

Arcana of Maiden: Shapeshift
The character can change her seeming into that of a natural beast. She gains the attributes of one, and gets to swap any number of her Abilities and Secrets for those appropriate to that kind of animal. The change is permanent until dispelled. The character can only change her shape (to either direction) when nobody else knows where she is.
Cost: 2 INSTINCT for large mammals, 4 for others.
Requirement: Embody Maiden
Arcana of Mother: Command
The character can force others to do as she wills by the mere use of her voice. However, if the other person is hurt in consequence, her voice loses its power for as long as it takes for the injury to heal.
Cost: 2 VIGOR per target.
Requirement: Embody Mother
Arcana of Mother: Healing
When the character heals Harm with an Ability check, she can spend Vigor to raise the effective level of healing on a 1:1 basis. The patient has to stay in bed for a day per point spent, however, or the Harm comes back.
Cost: 1+ VIGOR
Requirement: Embody Mother
Arcana of Crone: Spirit Sight
The character can see invisible and hidden things, including seeing through lies. When it comes to conflict over this, she can pay the difference between the check results in REASON to tie the opponent and make the result inconclusive (effectively meaning that she suspects but does not know). If she refuses to know something, however, the sight is lost until the truth is revealed to her.
Cost: 1+ REASON
Requirement: Embody Crone
Arcana of Crone: Horror
The character can make another feel unreasoning, primal fear by her mere visage and voice, intense enough to force the person to escape or even die of fright. However, this power is lost if any should laugh at her, only coming back if she manages to scare a person again.
Cost: 1 REASON for social stakes, 2 for escape, 3 for paralysis and eventual death.
Requirement: Embody Crone

Keys - Witchcraft