Ways Of Playing With WitchSpecies...

Anyone got any thoughts on a odd take on that trope?

Witch species are we talking about?

Bah!

You could try a take like Real Life genetics, whether it's a dominant gene or a recessive.

Hell, even if it's just dominant in comparison to other genes, like how sometimes an African will marry an English and their child will be one or the other in skin colour rather than caramel.

Any way the trope could fit with this magic system?

Everybody is soul-less, they go through their hollow lives trying to fill that void in there spirit. The gods magic incarnate give people souls from time to time, sometimes this creates monsters like centaurs or minotaurs sometimes it causes enlightenment but other times it causes magi the people of magic. Who went on to create familiars, constructs (golems and undead), and ghosts (who later became demons and angels). When a ensouled becomes powerful enough apotheosis happens and they seek out a new identity, a new job. Kind of mixes [[film/Hellboy The Golden Army]], Percy Jackson film and movie, and the new world of darkness in a pot to see if anything crawls out.

Example ensouled: Sorceral: the demigods and witches of human kind granted a soul by a divinity they inherit much from their patron and once in a very long while, gain power enough that they slough off their mortal coil to become gods in their own right. Each sorceral starts with a “tell”, a minor signature from a god some gods are constant with this mark others are not. It represents the investment a patron has made in a person, animal or thing that may or may not become invested enough for greater powers however for the vast majority of the sorceral’s life the tie to their patron also levies what is universal called a “curse” a vagary of the arrangement that the gods refuse to elaborate on, the surest sign that you are facing a powerful soceral is that they are bound strongest by their curse and have changed their blessings. The surest sign that you should run is when the ties are completely severed for they are bound neither by the blessing or curse of their patron and are in a transitive state awaiting some unknown revelation to crystallize or steal a divine spark. The blessings granted are to the mind, spirit, and body of the soceral as well as granting them the ability to learn and cast magic.

Example of blessings, curses and tells.

Hectate Ascendant (previously pre-chosen of hectate): the triple goddess encompassing the archetypes of the maiden, the mother, and the crone who has eyes that face all directions so that she knows all around her and can foresee the consequences of all decisions. Her reach is felt far and wide as the goddess of the crossroads, of magic, death, animals, and time.

Skills of the mind outside of time:

Memories going forward and backwards in time about magic, “current” events, and biology.

Goddess of spells favorites:

Free spells kind of random, some have to do with the perception and manipulation of time others do not. Three faces in the water:

Hands unseen; the first blessing granted by the goddess of the fringes, sorcerals gain a form of telekinesis they can manipulate anything they can see as if they have 6 extra hands, therefore they can manipulate a lot of small things or one heavy big thing. The range is limited to the sorcerals perception, thus if they can’t see the object they can’t manipulate it such as hidden behind a door or too small to see or too large an interesting side effect is that the effect can travel along live feeds but not recordings.

Tall walls carry secret signs; the second blessing granted by the goddess of gates and doors, sorcerals gain 4 small manifestations of their connection to hectate, these ghost-lights risible small torches and function equal to the sorcerals own senses, especially the eyes which can now see in all directions. Sometimes sorcerals test how far these witches’ lights can travel or how fast, unspeakable things happen when they do.

Body outside of body; the third blessing granted by the goddess of childbirth, nurturing the young, and the ever shifting moon is a form of Doppelganger Attack. At first sorcerals can only summon 2 copies of themselves; however they soon learn how all of them can summon 3 more, again and again. The last sorceral existing is considered the true one so crueler ones can use this to travel or fight. Although each one can only last for a single sky, defined as in the same day/night side of the planet as far as distance and time is when the sky changes i.e. sunrise or sunset whichever is sooner.

Call the hounds; the fourth blessing of the great key holder is the ability to command Dogs, fish, frogs, cows, horses, and serpents. Who while following the sorcerals commands take on a red color. The sorceral must be able to see, touch, and speak to the beasts to be commanded.

The present is poison, the past panacea, and the future sits at the crossroads; the final blessing of the goddess of the crossroads; this seems to grant sorcerals post and pre cognition. Few sorcerals ever reach this level of power and fewer still talk about it.

Curse: the goddess of the brim moves betwixt and between the unknown mysteries and our reality and the souls she creates similarly guard the lonely places and the gates between them though not of their own choice for they cannot cross a threshold without permission and cannot refuse a honest request to patrol a threshold, many sorcerals find work enforcing boarders due to this. On the other hand your constant vigil has increased your awareness somewhat, any threshold you guard or have ever guarded whispers the comings and goings that it facilitates although only in the vague sense of a person stepped inside but didn’t enter or that a cat left and came back, Next, the sense of coming and going is refined somewhat sorcerals can discern the methods of ingress, egress, and regress such as wither a person entered under false pretenses (but not the lies themselves) or broke in with force or left but not under his or her own power. Later, your awareness expands to all thresholds within a boundary more often than not the space legally defined as the city limits. However in modern times this consciousness varies according to the whims of the goddess of cities sometimes only going as far as a single building or the property that building occupies. Oddly enough some natural thresholds are permitted as well such as trails that form a crossroads however man made thresholds are always preferred. Lastly, the sorcerals mind is opened to the final threshold with any of their eyes they can see the waxing and waning of life itself. Most sorcerals dread this aspect of their goddess most of all.

Tell: Hectate has a number of known tells, the most famous of which is oddly simple, one’s heartbeat becomes louder mimicking the sounds like a softly ticking clock no matter how loud the sorcerals environment is.

Scion of Saturn: Chosen by the bound and unbinding god of the harvest, death, and protection the souls of Saturn inherit great power and a dreadful legacy. Saturn was a king born of kings who usurped and was usurped, a god who made masters of slaves and slaves of masters, he is the god of lead the dross that must be overcome to become gold. However he is most well known for his desperation forcing him into extreme acts re: cannibalism and his inability to overcome destiny.

Talents pulled from the jaws: Laws, mathematics, and astronomy are the skills sorcerals are granted with Saturn’s blessing. Commands of the ruler of God and Goddess: Free spells mostly tied to perception such as being able to see injustice etc.

Might granted by the father: Harvest crown; with a touch sorcerals can cause any plant or animal experience one season or one year of growth yielding much at the cost of their life,

Thrown unseen; for all his flaws Saturn was an authority who fought injustice, those who remember this fact can bind one or more parties into a Magically Binding Contract,

Regalia run red; although sometimes a curse as well as a blessing, the weapons wielded by the scions of Saturn spill more than blood for from this blood random summons appears to fight on their behalf.

Nine chalices of blood; the god of usurpation and the tyrant of thoughts needs loyal troops to fling into conflict therefore his scions have an aura that causes those around them to be bolstered in body and spirit while sacrificing their minds to their masters rage,

Meal of kings; lastly Saturn devoured his children and vomited them up alive again although few scions ever learn the second half of that trick they can consume any living thing or something they think to be a living thing in a single bite.

Curse: the curse of Saturn is as simple as it is crushing the fates hold these sorcerals close and tailor malicious ends for all their adventures, in other words you have a destiny to keep and it is always tragic. Through hardships abound and toils uncounted your fate shields you somewhat as your end has already been chosen fate intervenes to make sure you meet it after all how can you lose the hand of the fair maiden you have been questing for if you have been eaten by a dragon? These twists in the tapestry of time are only so strong however and have been known to fail. Next, the subtle ties of fate make themselves known to you while they do not grant the intuitive relief from fate they do grant peace of mind in bleak situations as well as a slight tug protecting from illusions and compulsions separating the sorceral from his prophecy written in the stars. Then, for all the lead coins weighing heavy on the sorcerals heart the hope for gold springs eternal, destiny opens one’s mind on how one’s tragedies can become triumphs, as the saying goes when life gives you lemons make lemonade, and where one door closes another opens. Lastly, the Moirae seem to look down on the sorceral with pity, the cords of fate are as strong as iron guiding the sorceral to their doom however they also tie happiness to the sorceral as well as form a noose around the fools who would deny the sorcerals fate with but one irony keeping it from closing in.

Tell: as the god of the harvest one of Saturn’s tells manifests itself as one or more wheat spikelets growing out to the sorcerals skin.

Well, you can have lots of fun with people's reactions to them. One society might worship them, and/or be ruled by them. Another society might fear and oppress them. In a third, they're hidden under The Masquerade. In a fourth, it's treated as just another feature of the person, like having musical talents.

Well there is no Masquerade in the setting, and there are only a few witching family lines. So possible ways of explaining why (usaully) members of these families are born with souls?

edited 9th Feb '11 6:03:11 PM by Zolnier

Well, you could easily have it be genetic. Or maybe some supernatural power-bestowing being took a liking to their family and decided to make sure each of them had magic. Or they have some sort of family ritual that they do to each new baby to give them powers. Or whatever. Genetics is the simplest explanation.

I think I'll go with, "some pantheon of gods liked the family, made sure they'd all have magic" possible reasons a pantheon could decide to make a family a magical bloodline?

edited 9th Feb '11 6:03:36 PM by Zolnier