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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Poor editing ruins the content, June 11, 2005
Way of the Witch is a d20 fantasy supplement from the now apparently defunct Citizen Games intended for use with the Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition rules. It contains rules for playing a new core class called the Witch, which can be added to any campaign. Unfortunately, most of these rules are hard to implement, because the content is bogged down by poor editing, conflicting rules, a muddled magic system, and somewhat overpowered abilities. Which is a shame, because there are some interesting ideas in here. The book had promise, and with a little rewriting, this could be an excellent supplement.
There is a fair amount of fiction to go along with the game rules, demonstrating the behavior and outlook of witches. The witch class is loosely based on a high-powered romanticized version of the modern Wiccan. Witches derive their power from their deity, whether it be the goddess and god, or the dark goddess Ca'di-us. The Witch is a divine spellcasting class similar to the cleric, although the way the Witch casts spells is more like a sorcerer, with a limited number of known spells, any of which can be called upon a certian number of times per day. In this regard, it is similar to the Favored Soul from other books. There are also 5 prestige classes, a number of skills and feats, and quite a few new rules. The book ends with some good adventure ideas and sample characters to help make it easier to add the content to your campaign.
The abilities of witches resemble some usually associated with the arcane spellcaster classes. For example, witches may acquire familiars. But witch familiars are different from sorcerer/wizard familiars in many ways. And witches may take feats to allow them to have multiple familiars, and the familiars acquire feats themselves in the course of the witch's progression. As a result, a witch's familiar is versatile and customizeable.
The prestige classes are all more narrowly defined witch classes. These include the evil black witch, the druid-like brown witch, the healing white witches, and the gray witches who preside in judgement over the others, as well as the vitke, guardians of the coven. Most of the levels of each prestige classes grant the character a special ability tailored to the theme of that witch's purpose. Each of these prestige classes requires spellcasting ability as a witch, and each one also grants additional spellcasting levels in the same. Although the Vitke allows the witch taking the class to choose between advancing in spellcasting as a witch or as a psion, an interesting option, although one that doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. It's almost as if the Vitke were two prestige classes, because the player has to choose which spell path to progress in, and once chosen, the path cannot be altered. The Vitke is also perhaps the most overpowered class I've ever seen in a supplement, gaining attack bonus as a fighter and +1 spellcasting level per vitke level, as well as two good saves and a special ability at each level but two. The other prestige classes are powerful, but the witch spell list doesn't have a lot of damaging spells, so they're not likely to dominate combat. In fact, most of the witch classes' special abilities and spells are geared to noncombat situations.
The new feats and spells are interesting, though in some cases perhaps a bit too powerful. Most of them assume the character has witch levels, and are written accordingly, although the prerequisites may or may not include witch levels. This is where the writers' lack of understanding of the d20 system really starts to show. The way these feats are written, anyone can take them, but the effect of the feats are specifically oriented to the witch classes, such as the Multiple Familiars feat, or the Familiar Fortitude feat, which starts, "unlike a wizard or sorcerer," yet has no prerequisite that would prevent a wizard or sorcerer from taking it. Still, with a little home-editing, these feats can be salvaged.
Where the book really falls apart is the confusing and multifaceted magic system for witches. The rules in this text describe four entirely separate systems of magic that witches employ. In addition to their normal spell progression as spellcasters, the witch also acquires a separate spell list that they can cast starting at fifth level, called "Circle Magic." This grants them a spell list separate from their regular spell progression. And there is also yet another system of magic called "Candle Magic" which is a little hard to understand. The candle spells appear on the regular spell list, but there is a feat that allows the creation of the magical candles that power the Candle Magic, so it's not really clear if any witch can take those spells, or if one must possess the feat to use them. If the former, why take the feat, and if the latter, why do the spells appear on the list? And as if those systems weren't enough, the book adds Rituals, a form of casting using a skill-check.
This sort of carelessness tarnishes the finished product nearly to uselessness. It introduces a skill called Knowledge (witchcraft), but then makes reference several times to abilities being used with a Knowledge (witchlore) check. The book also introduces a skill called "Conceal" which it doesn't use as a class skill for any classes. The Black Witch level chart and the accompanying text conflict in the names of the abilities and when they are gained... errors like this abound.
It's a shame Citizen Games no longer seems to be around, because with a properly thought out errata document, or an update to the D&D 3.5 rule system, the material here could be a nice addition to any campaign. I can't recommend it without the caveat that it would require a bit of adaptation.
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