WITCH
The very name summons up images of midnight sabbats against the full moon. It is a terrible accusation to some, a badge of honor for others. It could be said that no other fantasy archetype has been so shrouded in mystery, confusion or prejudice. Witches and witchcraft mean many things, often very different things, to many people. Anyway, the witches presented here are not based on anything factual. The Liber Mysterium is about witches of fantasy and myth, not the witches or Wicca of the real world. Nothing in this document is related to the real world.


BUT WHAT IS A WITCH?
Anyone with even passing familiarity with fairy tales or myth knows witches are practitioners of ancient religions. Morgan Le Fey, Circe, and Baba Yaga, were not wizards as depicted in various FRPG sources, but priestesses of Goddesses (or Gods) of old religions and forgotten ways.
The word witch comes from the Old English wicce, pronounced "wiche" or "wikke" and wicca, which are in turn derived from the root wikk, which applies to magic and sorcery. Many witches say witch means "wise" or "wisdom", so a witch is a wise person, and Witchcraft is the Craft of the Wise. Wicce, however, comes from the Germanic root wic, which means "to bend" or "to turn" which does apply to witchcraft, in the sense that witches bend or control forces to effect changes. Most witches through out history have been universally feared and abhorred because they were believed to be vindictive, cast evil spells upon others and consort with evil spirits. However, with the advent of the new D20 Game System, the witch has a chance to grow into the character type that does the witch of myth and legends justice, and preserve the mystery of the witch.


WITCHES IN THE D20 GAME
Witches are not wizards. Nor are they sorcerers, clerics, druids or psychics. They are their own. They possess a tradition that is older than any of these class archetypes. While the new D20 rules may be modified to allow the playability of a witch under one of these guises, the witch works the best as it's own class, with it's own unique style. Witches share similarities with other character classes. They also have quite a few differences. Even witches from the same coven and traditions can be very different from each other and what they believe.


BEING A WITCH
Unlike other classes, one does not wake up one day and decide to become a witch. Generally the prospective witch, the Initiate, will hear the Call of the Goddess at a young age. She must then seek out a coven and a witch tradition. Upon entering the coven the highest-ranking witch (regardless of level), called the High Priestess, will invite the young initiate to learn all she can from the covens' Books of Law. Some covens require a year and a day before the initiate can fully join. Only then will the new witch be taught the magic and ritual of being a witch. If a coven is not found, then the initiate might become a solitary. Often the solitary may be learning from an old book of a forgotten coven, or she may be receiving direct instruction from her Goddess. All witches follow what they believe to be the correct path. Often the Goddess influences this, but unlike clerics, the witch will receive their divine inspiration in a subtle, but constant manner. Witches are on a more personal level with their Goddesses than normal clerics. A witch, much more often than the common cleric, will be more tolerant of others' religious beliefs.