Witches of Oerth

[GRWelsh]

In my campaign, there is no central plot as it were, but I've been giving thought to the major baddies in the area and what their motivations are. They function as major villains behind the scenes driving some of what is going on and that the players could run into. I've always wanted to use witches as villains and I took inspiration from the Judges Guild adventure WITCHES COURT MARSHES and placed my own version of it in the Rushmoors. What lore from the World of Greyhawk is there around witches and witch covens?

[geneweigel]

They had a thread about hags over at KNIGHTS AND KNAVES ALEHOUSE that I contributed to that touched on witches:

knights-n-knaves.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17308&p=288726&hilit=witch#p288726

At one point I was thinking of a simpler "witch" for a blog post rather than the various NPC classes in DRAGON MAGAZINE but haven't got around to it yet.

Here are the Dragons:

Notes on Women and Magic, #3 (OCT 76) by Lakofka
Witchcraft Supplement for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, #5 (Also in BEST OF DRAGON #1) by Unknown Author (MAR 1977)
Another Look at Witches and Witchcraft in D&D, #20 by Ronald Pehr (NOV 1978)
Brewing up a New NPC, #43 Written by Bill Muhlhausen, Revised and edited by Kim Mohan and Tom Moldvay (NOV 1980)
“Real” Witch, #43 by Tom Moldvay (NOV 1980)
The Return of the Witch, #114 by Bill Muhlhausen’s article was revised and edited by Kim Mohan and Tom Moldvay; this version has been further expanded and revised by Roger E. Moore, and edited by Karen Martin, Robin Jenkins, and (once again) Kim Mohan.(OCT 1986)

The DUNGEON! boardgame features witches as slightly weaker versions of evil wizards. Its one point less for most attacks and elves can hit them but cannot hit evil wizards at all (Unless you are using expert rules with a magic sword).

[geneweigel]

That #114 one might have been "something to fill up an article" to quote Jon Pickens. Use cautiously.

[GRWelsh]

Thanks Gene. I think what I'd like to do is:

1. Take inspiration from actual folklore on witches.
2. Review references to witches and hags as mentioned in EGG's World of Greyhawk including Gord stories.
3. Possibly take inspiration from "witch classes" such as in DRAGON Magazine and adventures like WITCHES COURT MARSHES (although I'm not one of those DMs that believes every character concept needs its own NPC class... To me, witches are magic-users who focus on certain kinds of spells and magic, such as charms, polymorphs, having familiars, brewing potions, communicating with lower planar creatures, etc.).
4. Solidify some witch personages in my campaign world with a better idea of power levels and motivations (like Mordridda believes she can steal the power of the Demiurge either by killing or sacrificing Basiliv...).

Did EGG equate Iggwilv with Baba Yaga? I thought he said something like that, but I couldn't remember if he thought of her as the actual Baba Yaga who came to Oerth from Earth, or if he merely thought of her as inspired by that character ("This world's version of Baba Yaga").

I remember in a Gord story there was a reference to Kalfeen, the Mistress of the Black Coven, but I don't have which book/page number offhand. I thought the Black Coven was somehow related to Iggwilv.

In my own campaign, I'd established a background of witch burnings and hangings that went on in Gran March and Keoland a few hundred years ago that turned into general persecution of magic-users with the Fellowship of the Blinding Light participating in that. Part of that history is that there was a Coven of Shiboleth that was destroyed and/or scattered.

[GRWelsh]

Now this is interesting: Shiboleth is a location in the World of Greyhawk and almost certainly a misspelling (deliberate or otherwise) of the word Shibboleth which originates from the Bible. In the Book of Judges (12:4-6) if someone didn't pronounce Shibboleth the correct way, they were killed on the spot.

[grodog]

Also worth considering:

- Holmes’ portrayal of witches in “Confessions of a Dungeon Master” with anecdotes from his home campaign (findable online and in Tales of Peril), as well as a witch doctor in the story of the same name (only published in our Tales of Peril collection)
- Looking at the relationships between the various “witchy” deities like Wee Jas , Beltar, Mhyriss, Lydia, and perhaps Incabulos, Nerull, Istus, Beory, and Tharizdun, and the various cults for demons, daemons, devils, etc.

Apr 25, 2022 8:52:20 GMT -5 GRWelsh said:

Thanks Gene. I think what I'd like to do is:

1. Take inspiration from actual folklore on witches.

I did a paper on witchcraft in the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries while an undergrad at Penn State. It was a good excuse to dig about in the rare books room and consult 13-15th century books on demonology and witchcraft. There was quite a bit of variety in how they were portrayed, as I recall.

Allan.

[geneweigel]

I didn't clarify that witch rule for DUNGEON! the number on the card is what you need to hit the witch so its easier to hit the witch than the evil wizard.

[geneweigel]

Iggwilv gets called queen of hags in the Gord stories.

Then there was an allusion to Iggwilv in DANGEROUS JOURNEYS:THE ANUBIS MURDERS (1992) where "Pohjola" of the Finnish Mythos is hinted at being her:

held up the ankh he had recovered after the cell was opened. The bright gold was slowly darkening and becoming corroded. "Observe the loop," he instructed. There, instead of the ovoid of an ankh was the profile of a long-nosed, scrag-gly haired female, a witch, the Crone herself.

A month passed before Rachelle mentioned the matter again. They had left Lyonnesse almost immediately after the discovery of Prince Llewyn's escape. The king was happy to see them gone, for they reminded him of the sorry affair. After crossing the channel and traveling overland through Francia, including a visit to Paris, of course, and thereafter crossing Aries, the two again took ship, eventually landing in Egypt. Setne had to return home, ostensibly to find a new ankh, but also for other reasons. Rachelle knew that the wizard-priest was worried about the threat implied by Louhi's features stamped out of the amulet's metal, and the corruption of the supposedly incorruptible gold. Only after they had been home for several days, and Inhetep had begun his work on a new ankh, one to be imbued with more energy and might

than the formerly held device, did his companion dare to mention what had occurred.

"What would they have done to me in Po-hola?" she inquired as they sat outside on a pleasant evening, with the first stars making little motes of silver upon the pond nearby.

"That's Pohjola," he corrected, sounding the three syllables carefully for her, "Poe-yoe-lah."

"Never mind how you say it. I want to know what they wanted me there for!"

Inhetep looked at her and grinned. "They planned to turn you into sugarcake, just as the wicked witch of the wood did to all those children!"

"Setne!"

"I have no idea. Louhi is a devious bag, and the purposes she has to further her schemes are dark and vile. Whatever it was, she

certainly planned nothing good for you."

"Does she have children?"

"I have heard tell she has a beautiful daughter."

"No sons?"

"You think that a possible son of hers was smitten by tales of your beauty and prowess so as to desire you for his own?"

"Well, it is possible, perhaps ..."

"More likely that the daughter of the witch is a vampiress who must drink the blood of beautiful virgins in order to remain young and beautiful herself."

"Then she would not want me!"

"No, you are too ugly," Setne said firmly. Rachelle threw her chilled fruit juice at him, but he ducked. She pouted. "Oh, come on, girl! I can only speculate. Neither of us can know, not with Prince Llewyn escaped."

[GRWelsh]

Yes, thanks for reminding me, Gene -- it was Louhi not Baba Yaga that I was thinking. I found the reference in SEA OF DEATH, Chapter 1:

Shape without form, illumination without light, events occurring in timelessness. Such was the nature of the null-space brought into being by Iggwilv, or so it was perceived by those with her. Perhaps the greatest of witches, as she was known by some, actually did create this no-place, or perhaps she merely enabled herself and the others to gain access to it. The truth of this was unimportant; what did matter was that Iggwilv had provided the means by which she and the other practitioners of evil could meet.

The witch was incredibly ancient, older even than old Iuz — in fact, Iggwilv was the mother of the cambion who had designs on all of Oerth. Iggwilv's infamy reached beyond Oerth to other worlds that paralleled it and occasionally touched it for a time. Ychbilch she was called on one of these worlds, Louhi on another. No matter by what name or title she was known, she was who she was — mistress of dweomercraefting, mother of Iuz, worker of malign plots against those of Good… and sometimes even those of Evil. She sat at ease and in comfort now, displaying the voluptuous beauty of one of the forms she was capable of taking. Perhaps this was Iggwilv's true appearance; be that as it may, even so gorgeous a face as the one she wore now could not mask the evil that dwelled within her.

[geneweigel]

I just noticed that I wrote "Pohjola" from DEITIES AND DEMIGODS (1980) instead "LOUHI (old crone of Pohjola)". Pohjola being the land.

[geneweigel]

Its that damn "Son of Pohjola" at it again!

[Scott]

There's some very good information on witches in DJ that I have used as inspiration before.

[geneweigel]

I just tried to scan some DJ. Man... that font is fucked. Sorry...

[grodog]

Apr 25, 2022 12:46:32 GMT -5 Scott said:

There's some very good information on witches in DJ that I have used as inspiration before.

Oh? I wasn’t aware of that!

Allan.

[grodog]

Tim’s blog is good for useful inspiration on witches in general at theotherside.timsbrannan.com/ and specifically his list of witches in gaming links at theotherside.timsbrannan.com/p/witches.html

Allan.