Difference between revisions of "Enchantress/ForestWitches"

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(Yes those crazy Forest Witches!)
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This is my tweeking of the Forest Witch background originally posted on the official forums. The idea here is that I'm considering them as a genuine threat rather than irritating bandits. It also deals with my idea of how the Yozis are going to escape their prison.  
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== The Forest Witches: A new power in the East ==
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In Outcastes the Forest Witches come across as a very insular group, aside from a few noteworthy examples with a grudge against the Realm they’re mostly content to play in their fantasy world. <br>
  
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First of all I looked to their aspect that most brought them into contact with other groups, namely the tithe now in the Dragon-Blooded book it says minor artefacts or other sources of Essence. What if in order to keep the harmony and mirror of perfection, the Sea of Mind needed living sacrifices (the more essence the better)
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Changing that aspect was relatively easy, the Forest Witches resort to banditry in order to play a tithe of minor artifacts and other sources of essence to the Sea of Mind. Stressing that aspect of the background can make the Forest Witches quite aggressive, even evil if these sources of essence include living sacrifices. <br>
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So, now they’re working outside their sphere of influence- what do they want? That depends largely upon the needs of your chronicle. Possibly the Sea of Mind is a malign presence that seeks the conquest of Creation? Or is the ambition behind this expansion all too human? I went for a combination of the two personally- Ghandava’s megalomania coupled with the Sea of Mind being a fragment of Cytherea that had an “ends justify the means” plan to end the divisions and disharmony within Creation. <br>
  
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Anyway the Sea, the Mist and the Forest aren’t dependant on the Dragon-Blooded who are seen more as it’s willing agents. However it’s capricious nature (it’s all one entity) means that it’s not always happy with the Forest Witches and will occasionally turn one into Numina so as to better serve it.
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The next issue is, what do they offer that the various other Outcaste groups don’t? That’s an easy one – they’ve got weird crap and lots of it. Ophelia the Forest Walker is pretty much a behemoth that looks like a forest- It could be Lord of the Rings influencing me but I could certainly see the trees moving around to confuse people or uprooting themselves to give chase! <br>
  
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Numina are very much like Akuma only they are created by the pursuit of perfection rather than a direct oath of loyalty. In my version they were all turned sort of against their will like Anja was in that they didn’t necessarily want it but their actions and opinions of themselves suggested they did.
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Dominica the Mist is even more interesting in that she can remake exalts into Numina, that’s more impressive when you consider that the only  other things we’ve seen that changes an Exalt’s nature like that is the direct action of the Primordial Autocthon or the infamous spirit charm Investiture of Infernal Glory. <br>
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Dominica’s Mantle is a great plot device- it’s effectively reincarnation with all memories intact and some say in who you’ll be next. With this the Forest Witches could have sleeper agents anywhere and if they’re young enough they don’t even know it yet. That’s insidious in a way that makes even Mask of Winters envious! <br>
  
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The final changed aspect is that Asiluth Eternal isn’t a holiday destination so much as it calls the Forest Witches to it and tests them spiritually with it's perfected version of Creation rather than serving as the Forest Witch “Holo Deck” 
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You’ve also got the dead, who via an artefact called a Walking Stone can effectively haunt suits of armour and even Warstriders. Even more disturbing for people who’ve already faced the undead  and think a haunted Warstrider is nothing special. When they finally bring it down they’ll realise that there really was nobody at the controls, there’s just an odd stone sitting where a pilot should be. <br>
  
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Finally as to what the Sea of Mind, the Nameless Mist and the Forest really are- it’s Cytherea or part of her at least. I’ve not ironed out the specifics but I’m thinking that it’s part of her which never actually left and was thus never subject to the binding and the Primordial’s consciousness moved over to it.
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Finally that brings us to the Sea of Mind- what does that do besides make them think they’re in a perfect world and save a copy of them when they die? Simple- while artifacts found in the Sea of Mind simply aren’t real, the same can’t be said for knowledge gleaned from it. <br>
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I’d imagine Forest Witches are strongly predisposition to be sorcerers with the sort of things they’ll find in Asiluth Eternal. Their spell books may not be real but the information in them isn’t necessarily- also if you want to play up the Sea of Mind as the impetus for what the Forest Witches are up to then you may want to consider giving them something conceptually like the Whispers background- that lets them know things they couldn’t possibly have known. <br>
  
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This is sort of tied to the Ebon Dragon’s escape plan since it proved to him that only the Primordial bodies were bound rather than their consciousness hence the substantial presence of the Black Scale Embassy. Ebon Dragon’s agents are watching to ensure that switching bodies is a prudent move for their master to take.
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=== FFS! Summarise Kate! What do they bring to my game? ===
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Potentially
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human sacrificing antaginists (for those who like their antagonists evil?), Renegade Dynasts with a grudge (better for Dragon-Blooded games I imagine) An Ancient Evil (Sea of Mind used to be Cytherea's could still be under Yozi influence), Killer Attack Trees (more Hurrons than Ents),  Numina (How Infernal or Spirit you want them to be is up to you), Reincarnated sleeper agents (I KNOW I like my players chasing shadows), Haunted Armour and Warstriders (I shouldn't have to explain this) Sorcery Power! (helps them be weird) and Whispers (well not exactly but- some sort of attunement to a higher power).

Latest revision as of 20:29, 19 November 2008

The Forest Witches: A new power in the East

In Outcastes the Forest Witches come across as a very insular group, aside from a few noteworthy examples with a grudge against the Realm they’re mostly content to play in their fantasy world.

Changing that aspect was relatively easy, the Forest Witches resort to banditry in order to play a tithe of minor artifacts and other sources of essence to the Sea of Mind. Stressing that aspect of the background can make the Forest Witches quite aggressive, even evil if these sources of essence include living sacrifices.

So, now they’re working outside their sphere of influence- what do they want? That depends largely upon the needs of your chronicle. Possibly the Sea of Mind is a malign presence that seeks the conquest of Creation? Or is the ambition behind this expansion all too human? I went for a combination of the two personally- Ghandava’s megalomania coupled with the Sea of Mind being a fragment of Cytherea that had an “ends justify the means” plan to end the divisions and disharmony within Creation.

The next issue is, what do they offer that the various other Outcaste groups don’t? That’s an easy one – they’ve got weird crap and lots of it. Ophelia the Forest Walker is pretty much a behemoth that looks like a forest- It could be Lord of the Rings influencing me but I could certainly see the trees moving around to confuse people or uprooting themselves to give chase!

Dominica the Mist is even more interesting in that she can remake exalts into Numina, that’s more impressive when you consider that the only other things we’ve seen that changes an Exalt’s nature like that is the direct action of the Primordial Autocthon or the infamous spirit charm Investiture of Infernal Glory.
Dominica’s Mantle is a great plot device- it’s effectively reincarnation with all memories intact and some say in who you’ll be next. With this the Forest Witches could have sleeper agents anywhere and if they’re young enough they don’t even know it yet. That’s insidious in a way that makes even Mask of Winters envious!

You’ve also got the dead, who via an artefact called a Walking Stone can effectively haunt suits of armour and even Warstriders. Even more disturbing for people who’ve already faced the undead and think a haunted Warstrider is nothing special. When they finally bring it down they’ll realise that there really was nobody at the controls, there’s just an odd stone sitting where a pilot should be.

Finally that brings us to the Sea of Mind- what does that do besides make them think they’re in a perfect world and save a copy of them when they die? Simple- while artifacts found in the Sea of Mind simply aren’t real, the same can’t be said for knowledge gleaned from it.

I’d imagine Forest Witches are strongly predisposition to be sorcerers with the sort of things they’ll find in Asiluth Eternal. Their spell books may not be real but the information in them isn’t necessarily- also if you want to play up the Sea of Mind as the impetus for what the Forest Witches are up to then you may want to consider giving them something conceptually like the Whispers background- that lets them know things they couldn’t possibly have known.


FFS! Summarise Kate! What do they bring to my game?

Potentially human sacrificing antaginists (for those who like their antagonists evil?), Renegade Dynasts with a grudge (better for Dragon-Blooded games I imagine) An Ancient Evil (Sea of Mind used to be Cytherea's could still be under Yozi influence), Killer Attack Trees (more Hurrons than Ents), Numina (How Infernal or Spirit you want them to be is up to you), Reincarnated sleeper agents (I KNOW I like my players chasing shadows), Haunted Armour and Warstriders (I shouldn't have to explain this) Sorcery Power! (helps them be weird) and Whispers (well not exactly but- some sort of attunement to a higher power).

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