Goblin Witches
While witchcraft is a popular form of spellcrafting and practical acarna across all of Eyom, a few cultures have created their own traditions of Witchcraft which have genuine diffrenceses in not only ritual and practice, but arcane abilities. Goblins are one such culture.
Goblins embraced witchcraft as their primary means of spellcasting in time imemoriable. Their witches are not hedge mages, as are so many witches across the world, but rather intigrated into their scociety as their primary spiritual advisors, casters, and arcane reasurchers. Their traditions are thus seeped in the other elements of Goblin Culture, but none more so than the Goblin's bond to nature.
There are four primary Goblin schools of witchraft (or Cāyyűyi in the goblin tongue):
For the ease of understanding, this document will use the translated names.
The Tol's Apprentice and Bride of the Green traditions form the core of Goblin religious practices. Modern goblins are spiritualy led by witches of the Tol's Apprentice tradition, while Traditional Goblins are spirityaly guided by the Brides of the Green. Both are spitual groups with a deep connection to nature, both are quite diffrent from one another.
The other two traditions are more rare, but still respected. Tantric Mages serve important roles as cultural ambasidors between Goblin Tribes, and especialy between the Modern and Traditional goblin cultures. They are masters of the art of manipulating people into relaxing enough to be open to new ideas. Free Souls are goblin witches who have largly abandoned Goblin culture and scociety to go where their hearts take them. Ratehr than meerly being free spirited, these witches have found the thread of fate which life has spun for them, and follow it to whatever lies at its end.
Tol's Apprentice
Tol's Apprentices are witches who have dedicated themslves to the Goddess Tol, who is both their patron and Master (in the crafsman sence of the term). They seek to enact her will, primarily within the bounds of Lin Forest but occasionaly also elsewhere in the world. As a part of their pact, they forsake daily wear of clothing, existing in a natural state to allow the natural ambient magic direct acess to the arcane tatoos printed flesh which store their spells and power. Also because symbolism. Unless it's cold, or there is danger afoot. In which case clothing and armor is okay. Because Tol isn't a jerk like that. They may also wear pointed hats complete with a hatpin inorder to look taller and therefore more powerful and important.
Patron: Tol's Apprentices must choose Tol as their patron and must choose one of her aspects to venerate (This counts as a patron for the purposes of patron spells, but all of them are dedicated to the same Tol.). The Aspects of Tol are: Animals, Autumn, Enchantment (Goblins will call this aspect "Sexuality / Fertility"), Plant, Spring, Summer, Winter, or Woodlands.
Beast Companion
Tol's Apprentices begin their career as a witch by bonding with an animal from Lin Forest, which serves them as an Animal Companion in a simmilar way to a Druid's Nature Bond. The primary diffrence is the witch's companion is an intelegent and spaient indvidual capable of speach. The process of befriending, uplifting, and then bonding with this animal (who becomes the witch's best friend more than her servent) is how the witch gains Tol's attention and her patrionage. The bonded animal may be any animal from the Animal Companion list which can be found in the Any, Forest, or Jungle enviornments.
This companion does not serve as a Familure, and it not used to cast spells, nor prepare spells (but does count as a familure for the purposes of Hexes and spells which target a Familure). Instead, Tol's Apprentice uses sacrad inks to tatoo herself with arcane symbols which Tol reveals to her over time. These symbols store her spells, and also serve as the condiute by which the energies of the natural world can replenish her power (A Tol's Apprentice can retain 1 spell level of energy per hour when in direct sunlight if her tattoos are unobstructed and can bathe in the light.).
These tattoos store all of the spells that a witch knows, and a witch cannot prepare a spell that is not stored in one of her tattoos. A witch begins play with a tattoo for each of the 0-level witch spells plus three 1st level spells of the witch’s choice. The witch also selects a number of additional 1st-level spells equal to her Intelligence modifier to store as tattoos. At each new witch level, she adds two new spells of any spell level or levels that she can cast (based on her new witch level) by tattooing them somewhere on her body (there is no standard for this, and she may place them where she pleases so long as they are the correct markings and correct sizes). A witch can also add additional spells if Tol reveals their symbols to her via this same process.
This ability replaces Witch's Familiar
Hexes: The following witch hexes complement the Tol's Apprentice archetype: Beast of Ill-Omen (Su), Feral Speech (Su), Fury (Su)*, Shapeshift (Su)*, Flight (Su), Heralding Bloom (Su), Iceplant (Su), Leshy Summoning (Su), Mother’s Eye (Su), Summer’s Heat (Su), Swamp’s Grasp (Su), Verdant Familiar (Ex) (Those with asterisks [*] are detailed in the shaman class.).
Major Hexes: The following major hexes complement the Tol's Apprentice archetype: Animal Skin (Su), Beast Eye (Su), Beast’s Gift (Su), Weather Control (Su).
Grand Hexes: The following grand hexes complement the Tol's Apprentice archetype: Animal Servant (Su), Forced Reincarnation (Su), Natural Disaster (Su).
Bride of the Green
Brides of the Green are witches who dovote themselves to one or more nature spirits as a part of their quest to develop a true understanding of life, the univerce, and everything. Through this understanding they achieve spirtual enlightnment and the wisdom that comes from true understanding. All they need is some help from the spirits of the land arround them, and a little green (and probably some shrooms). They are well known for their traditional atire which consists of a soft quilt-like green cloak, colorfull knit caps, comfortable walking sandles, a leather messanger's bag filled with herbs (and snacks), and nothing else.
Patron: Brides of the Green must select a nature spirit as their patron. Unlike regular nature spirits, those venerated by the Brides of the Green are either parts of a family which can collectivly grant her up to 9th level spells, or one of the rare powerful nature spirits capable of such things on their own. Concequently, Brides of the Green must choose their patron spells from the following catagories: Animals, Aurora, Autumn, Boundaries, Death, Dimensions, Elements, Fate, Healing, Light, Moon, Mountain, Plague, Plant, Rot, Shadow, Space, Spirits, Stars, Storms, Time, Transformation, or Wisdom.
Ganja
Brides of the Green make use of a sacrad herb which they believe smoking cultivates a form of personal introspection that allows the smokers to discover their inner divinity. Starting at first level, Brides of the Green posess the ability to locate their school's sacrad herb in even the least hospitable of enviornments, and least probable circumstances. This is an art taught to them by the spirits of the land, that they might better commune with them no matter where they go. A Bride of the Green is concidered to have at least one dose on her at any time, even if she were to have just smoked her last bowl and is chained upsidedown from a prison cell celing by one leg, she will somehow be able to procure another. A Bride of the Green can provide this functionaly unlimited supply to others as well, but only for healing or spiritual purposes (Or whenever law enforcment officers are not looking). This ability cannot be used durring combat, or in any situation which may cause stress. While a Bride of the Green is concidred to always have a single dose, if in combat or stressed, that next dose will only be locatable after the combat / stressor is over.
A Bride of the Green can locate up to 1d4 doses in an hour via a survival check. These doses can be stockpiled indefently, and used in combat.
This ability replaces the Hex the witch gains at level 1.
Spirit Guide
Brides of the Green first gain their power through a ritual involving partaking of a sacrad herb, then falling into a deep trance and meeting their Spirit Guide. A Spirit Guide is a nature spirit which takes on a semi-physical form to serves as the witch's guide to the spirtual realm and a conduite for her power. Allowing her to more fully access the magic of the univerce on a daily basis. The Bride’s Spirit Guide also grants her special powers. This ability uses the same rules as the wizard’s arcane bond class feature and is treated as a familiar, except that if slain, it returns to life 1d4 days later (while the Bride's Spirit Guide is dead, she cannot cast spells of a level greater than 3.).
A witch's Spirit Guide counts as her familure for the purpose of abilities which target familures. For all other purposes, the Spirit Guide functions as a Shaman's Spirit Animal. As a Bride of the Green's power comes mostly from within herself, she does not need a familure, nor her Spirit Guide to prepare or cast her spells (excepting spells of a greater level than 3). Instead, she perpares her spells by medicating for an hour while smoking a dose of her tradition's sacrad herb, this can be done but a single time per day.
This ability replaces Witch's Familiar
Meditation
As a move action, a Bride of the Green may smoke a dose of sacrad herb durring her meditations gain access to the following special abilities:
- Dampen her perception of time to make it appear as if she teleported forwards in time to a moment of her choice (This ability is interupted if any threat approches her while it is in use).
- Remove any negative condition which is not the result of physical trauma (such as Fatigued, Frightened, Dazzled, Confused, and sickened.)
- Gain a +5 bonus to perception for 1 hour.
- Gain a +2 bonus to all knoalge checks made durring the next 5 minutes.
- Skip their current combat turn in order to advance 1d4+1/5 levels up the inishative roster for the remainder of the combat.
- Heal 1d4+1/2 level HP, or 2d6+1/2 level non-letheal damage.
This ability replaces the Hex gained at first level.
Hexes: The following witch hexes complement the Bride of the Green archetype: Ameliorating (Su), Aura of Purity (Su), Cauldron* (Ex), Charm (Su), Disguise* (Su), Fortune (Su)*, Floating Lotus (Su), Healing (Su), Minor Prophecy (Su), No Place Like Home (Su), Peacebond (Su), Prehensile Hair (Su), Slumber (Su), Soothsayer (Su), Tongues (Su), Ward (Su), Wings (Su)* (Those with asterisks [*] are detailed in the shaman class.).
Major Hexes: The following major hexes complement the Bride of the Green archetype: Beast’s Gift (Su), Drugged (Su), Hidden Home (Sp), Major Ameliorating (Su), Major Healing (Su), Prophecy (Su), Vision (Su).
Grand Hexes: The following grand hexes complement the Bride of the Green archetype: Animal Servant (Su), Curse of Nonviolence (Su), Death Interrupted (Su), Lay to Rest (Sp), Summon Spirit (Sp).