A tattooed elf, veiled and cloaked, draws his obsidian (dragon glass) dagger across the sand, calling forth from the lines a ghostly apparition to help him and his allies find their way.
A trio of halfling hermits gather among candles and incense, chanting words of power to bait spirits from the shadows.
The bejeweled human, dressed in exotic garb and golden chains bellows a spell which echoes with the voices of an army of lost souls, a fiendish glint in his eyes as blood drips from his palm.
Unlike shamans who pray to the spirits of nature, witches trap the tormented souls of intelligent beings lost betwixt the realm of the living and the beyond. As a witch, they learn to summon these souls and bind them to their will, gaining
protection from them as well as the power to debilitate their enemies. As they attain higher levels, the circle they join grants them further abilities which extend the usefulness and power of these bonds in different ways.
Witches may or may not have a level of respect for the spirits they bind, though one could say they should. Sorne witches tap into the residual energies of long-departed souls, while others use extant spiritual beings as conduits for their spellcasting. Either way and whether or not they wish, witches bind part of their own soul to those that surround them.
Witch spells mostly deal with manipulation of spiritual energies (both living and dead) and protections against the beings with supply those energies. As part of their connection to the spiritual world, they are also privy to information and secrets normally not meant for mortal minds. As such, witches are powerful enchanters, abjurers, and diviners.
Witches acknowledge that there is a spiritual connection between all things – forces that inexplicably and randomly bind beings and happenings together in a kind of mass, shared fate. They see other witches as brothers and sisters, and other classes as close cousins. As a consequence, witches are often fond of forming alliances. One kind of alliance is the circle that a witch belongs to.
The circle that a witch joins is the manifestation of a philosophy regarding the nature of spirits. Sorne, like the circle of power, believe in a supreme energy that extends beyond the physical world, weaving together magic and the collective
conscience of all living things. Others, from the circle of blood for example, believe in a more intimate connection between the physical world and the other side. In this philosophy, each soul is tied to something close to it in the physical world – a body, an object, or location that was important to it when it was alive.
Witches have the ability to enter into an induced state known as the witch’s quickening, letting them see what others cannot. They can enter this state by remaining still and concentrating. lf they maintain the quickening for at least 1
minute, they can see into the Ethereal Plane up to 60 feet and they gain advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Intelligence (Investigation) checks. Any action ends the quickening. In addition, they may add their proficiency
bonus to Intelligence (Investigation) and Charisma (Persuasion) when dealing with spirits.
Witches can bind spirits to their service by performing certain rites. Binding a spirit is an action. The number of spirits they may have bound at any time is limited per DM. When they choose a spirit to bind, they “fill” one of their available spell slots with the spirit. The spell slot used is no longer available for casting spells, and it remains unavailable for as long as the spirit filling it remains bound to them.
One of the first abilities a witch learns is how to protect himself from spirits who may wish to harm him. The “ward” has a radius of 30 feet, centered on their location, and is stationary for its duration. While inside the ward, friendly creatures (themselves included) cannot be charmed, frightened, or possessed by undead and have resistance to all damage from
incorporeal undead sources (including the spiritual effects produced by other witches). Additionally, if a friendly creature is reduced to 0 hit points inside the ward but not killed outright, the creature becomes stable. The ward lasts 1 minute per level, or until they create another ward.
