Urban Fantasy: The Witch-Breeds

There's a lot of critters out there that don't really fit any categories. Attempting to categorize everything is a fruitless endeavor. However, this is Halloween so we'll have to talk about witches. But not the 'neo pagan fruitcakes' or the 'hot goth chick' style of witch. No, these are weirdos at worst and mortal spellcasters at best. Depraved or evil as some may be they retain their humanity.

Some spellcasters don't. And some become monsters long before they even learn the simplest trick.

The Witch-Breeds

There are many promises in magic: power and immortality tend to come up a whole lot due to basic human fear and needs. Supernatural powers, when acquired by mortals, always come at a price and some are more terrible than others. In certain era, where knowledge was rare and limited (or restrained), the more researched forms of magic remained beyond the reach of most individuals. In modern times, the same primordial urges and darkness remain and sometimes, even when readily available, the 'slow path' to power can be seen as not being enough. There is always greater sacrifice to be made. There is always more to offer to dark and chtonic powers if it mean more secrets revealed in less time. And then there are others who simply never know of another path, whose own wickedness and ambitions damn them so quickly they never find out about other means and paths to power.

These are the creatures which myths and folklore have recorded as Roogaroo, Obayifo, Soucouyant, Pricolici, Strega and Tlalicque. They are the witches and ogres which eat children.

Art by Larry Wilson.

Witch-Breed is a loose term to refer to a magical being which are similar in nature to Bogeymen, albeit one of human origin. They straddle the line between mortal, bogeyman, cryptid, demon and more but are none of these. Some vague power or cursed tied to primordial and terrifying things of the dark have imbued and transformed them into the evil witches of folklore, the type who look like hags with green skin covered in warts and eat children. They are monsters born of the meeting point between wickedness and the knowledge/desire for supernatural powers. They are evil and cursed beings, stunted in true arcane might but swollen with minor and dreadful abilities which make them the bane of ordinary folks. Like bogeymen they live in the shadows and are elusive even to modern technology.

In modern society, one would think that such beings have no place. This is untrue, in fact they have never flourished more! We live in an era where parents are deathly afraid of letting their children interact with strangers. We are hyper connected yet increasingly alienated from others. We love to paint ourselves as open-minded people, tolerant of what is different yet...how many of us have recoiled when they met an ugly old man or woman clearly suffering from some mental illness, muttering to themselves and reeking of alcohol? Or perhaps we've been scared of an unusually tall and broad man, with a misshapen face and scraggly beard, thinking he might be some violent brute. 

In most cases there are people like any other and we let out prejudice get in the way. But at the corner of our vision or in the shadows lurk creatures feeding off our mundane fear and spite. Many of them are hidden behind veils and illusions and we never know we've met them. Their magic is weak and flawed but its enough to foil people long enough to trick them. That they often resemble the dregs of our society, the mentally ill, the ugly, the outcasts and the poor is a useful trick for them. Many poor innocents have been framed as the killer when in reality, Jack the Hobo was the only one who saw that little girl being taken by the old lady with the monstrous shadow of a horned giant with the barbed tongue. He tried to help but it was too late. The old hag snatched the child and went down the sewers, leaving poor old man Jack with a bloody arm. There was no other evidence and he was condemned to death for the murder of that little girl. Such tragedies repeat themselves time and time again...

Modern Wicked Witches and Ogres

This is the archetype the Witch Breeds embodies. They are the wicked, warty children-eating witches and villainous kidnapping ogres of the modern era. Their origin, however, hints at the potential flaws in one's quest for arcane power, as Witch Breeds are either failed magicians who were weak and, in their craving for power, sacrifice too much for too little or they are those who never even considered the greater cosmic power (or weren't even aware of it!) and went straight to the part where their humanity is sacrificed. Some people are wicked and jealous and sometimes they might even attract equally vile patrons who care not that the bargain is inherently flawed and destructive.

Common Witch-Breed Abilities

Beyond their connection to the dark corners of the world and the human mind, as well as magic, few of these creatures share much in common. Their abilities are a wide and disparate lot and their unpredictability make up for their otherwise lack in truly powerful magic. These are not monsters which fight openly, preferring trickery and corruption most of the time.

Flawed Glamour

Most, if not all Witch-Breed end up twisted from a mixture of their inner darkness, the evil source of their powers or simply age. These creatures very commonly age more quickly yet also live longer than any human should and the more they age the worst they get as their bodies both break down yet also warp and twist. Skin become unnatural colors, nails grow thick and dirty, teeth lengthen while others rot and fall off. Eyes become swollen and bloody or clouded by cataracts yet somehow still see in pitch darkness. For others it is a subtle wrongness such as a creepy glare, a monstrous shadow or a foul smell. Their twisted from can be clouded with a simple Glamour at will but there is always a flaw to it.

D6	Flawed Glamour
1	The Witch-Breed’s human appearance is purely an illusion rather than a mixture of biological transformation and supernatural illusion and as such will appear distorted or even in their true form when viewed through other means (such as a mirror, a camera or cell phone). Note that, when it comes to recording devices they might still be able to have powers which negate/corrupt the recording, in which case it will only appear in its true form through ‘live’ footage from the device itself.
2	The creature’s true form can be exposed if it is touched by a specific category of people, such as men, women or children. Alternatively, this category could be ‘a legally recognized holy man/woman’ such a priest, a nun or a rabbi for example.  If touched by such an individual the Witch-Breed must immediately make a saving throw or temporarily (or until the end of the scene, depending on the creature) lose its disguise. Even if the effect is temporary, lasting a mere few seconds, it is enough to reveal it to be a hideous monster.
3	Specific materials or objects repel the creature and weaken its disguised. If touched by a specific material, such as salt, silver or iron, for example, the creature must immediately make a saving throw or recoil in pain/fear and temporarily lose its disguise. Even if the effect is temporary, lasting a mere few seconds, it is enough to reveal it to be a hideous monster.
4	The creature’s disguise is flawless...against human. Animals, on the other hand, always sense that something is wrong and will become agitated. Particularly large animals, such as a large dog, will become enraged and even vicious an attack the creature.
5	The disguise is seemingly flawless, safe for a telltale sign which is blatantly unnatural, such as causing milk to curdle in its presence or for its shadow to be that of its monstrous true form. Those who know what signs to look for can identity the creature for what it truly is.
6	The creature’s disguise cannot be used once the sun has set and it will always revert to its true form under the cover of the night. In some cases, such creatures might even be unaware of their monstrous form and live a double life.

Lesser Witchery

Providing an exact and complete list of powers such creatures can have is pointless. However, generally speaking the powers of Witch-Breed are weaker than high level spells and generally quite specific and situational. Most of them also Commit Effort for the day rather than scene.

• Animal Form: The Witch-Breed Commit Effort for the day and assume the form of an animal. Generally it is very likely this form is limited to a single creature type and requires some ritual/has some very specific drawback to assume this form or to revert from it.
• Lure Child: The Witch Breed Commit Effort for the day, select a child it has some view of and spend a minute enacting a ritual. At the end of the ritual the child is put into a daze and is compelled to trust the Witch-Breed. This power obviously can be modified to fit another category of people.
• Open The Path: The Witch-Breed Commit Effort for the day, selects a building and takes a full minute to enact whatever ritual she need. After the full minute of casting is complete, it can now walk through the walls of said building until the next sunrise.

Most Witch-Breeds are fairly average monsters in the 2 to 6 HD range, albeit with potentially an higher-than-their-HD's-average amount of Effort to fuel their abilities. Some of them are able to cast spells up to the 2nd level and usually know a number of spell equal to half their HD.