// content warning: brief allusions to violence against women, as well as an an unpleasant implication from the fantasy CIA. Be kind, folks!
Once upon a time, the Bromeillan coastlines were lauded for their ability to sustain life. Just as the River Roussillon tended to humanity, providing both the comfort and resources necessary to propel them across the continent, so too did the beaches and gulfs provide a spawning ground for the imps to settle—whatever precursors dared to crawl out from the seafloor. They were a genesis point. Both species depended on the ocean to fuel their civilizations, then to satisfy ritual needs. Villages and colonies sprouted all throughout the mainland, isolated from one another and yet alike in their reverence for the seas.
The Storm Eternal changed that. Entire communities fled inland towards the core. Those that could not find solace in their peers, or (in the case of many imps) flee beneath the waves, were made to fend for themselves. It was not until years later that some could return to their homes, only to find both land and sea totally unrecognizable; wracking winds, consumptive tides, an ocean dark as charcoal.
Needless to say that this did not bode well for the mariners. Although plenty of hamlets and villages now exist along Bromeilles’ broken shores, they are a far cry from the once-tranquil conditions afforded to its inhabitants hundreds of years ago—unruly, heartless places. Some held out hope that the seas could be corrected through a return to ritual sacrifice. Others abandoned that dream, only to lash out at the dreamers around them, and more still found alternative ways to vent their frustrations.
These are a whole bunch of words to say that, in appalling conditions, it was women and girls who paid the price. This class is not just about those who survive, but who transformed their experience into a kind of power that cannot (and will not) be relinquished.
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| Never forgive. Never forget. Never again. Art by helium_raven |
The Witch's Code
Your stock consists of women scorned, abandoned in their time of need. When your community revealed its true face to you, whether by neglecting your basic needs or dashing you against the rocks, when your mind and body fell upon the brink of collapse, it was a witch who took you in. You are the sacrificed, the harrowed, and the lost. You are sorrow not tamed, but twisted. A revenant made flesh. When those traitors choke beneath the floodwaters, there will only be one left thing to say: we will never be controlled again.
Tide witches are collectivists. Unlike their loner cousins, these witches have responded to injustice by forming tight-knit, isolated communities, where all are encouraged to brood amongst their peers. Tide covens lean heavily towards an Occult bias, and its structure is volatile by design: by hyper-focusing on strong emotions, such as sorrow and rage, a caster's trauma can be moulded into a kind of transformative lens, which is then applied to one’s spell-casting. Artisans are taught to dread such an approach. Witches, too.
Not all of your sisters originate from coastal regions—some things are sadly universal—but the sheer quantity of witches who do ensures the culture remains largely maritime. One sizeable exception are those adopted by The Glass House, where a fledgling’s single-mindedness and thirst for belonging serves as a valuable foundation for future Inquisitors.
Starting Skill: 1) Navigation 2) Sailing 3) Fishmongery
Hex: Inundate
The enchanted object gains [sum] charges, which last until either the object is destroyed or you dispel it during a rest. You cannot re-enchant an object that still has charges remaining. While touching the object, for each MD invested, you gain one of the following abilities:
- You siphon the fluid contents of one container into another. Due to the delicate nature of the transfer, you must concentrate until either the process is complete or you are interrupted. Two charges per ten doses (usually one slot).
- As an action, you disperse a creature's bodily fluids unfavorably—their insides bloat and writhe, eyes dry and bladder squirming like a slime mold. So long as you continue to concentrate, spending [target's HD] charges when you activate this ability and at the start of their turns, the target takes a -1 penalty to Defense and To-Hit.
- A
small object full of liquid (glass, bottle, etc.) momentarily stirs
before spilling from its container, sloshing or bubbling from an unseen
force. Can also aggressively wring clothing. One charge, +1 for each size category larger.
- You can target multiple objects or creatures with the same ability, as described above. One charge per target beyond the first.
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| Hello Again Art by astrono77153462 |
Requirements: a nearby body of water, a ritual poppet, tribute worth 200 GP.
Duration: Three days.
Description: Construct the poppet as part of an overnight ritual, investing Magic Dice into it. While you possess a finished poppet you may, at any time, call for help. So long as the body of water somehow connects to an ocean, a pair of ships—each manned by five 1-HD pirates—will arrive within 1d4 hours.
The pirates are friendly and will obey your commands: aiding you in combat, providing transportation, or helping with some other task, and will relinquish most of their crew to do so. They are reluctant to travel inland if it would mean abandoning their ships, and will all but refuse to travel farther than the current region on foot. You must provide tribute as soon as possible—along with the poppet, they prefer goods such as salt, rope, and booze. Once paid, they will assist you for the full duration.
How
long it takes the sailors to arrive depends on several factors, as
detailed below. If their travel time would be reduced to zero, the
pirates arrive in 1d10 minutes instead.
- Inland or far from coast (+30m per hex, +1h for river navigation).
- Poor weather (+30m).
- Light a smoke signal or fire a flare (-30m).
- Owed a favor (-10m).
- MD invested (-10m per die).
// I'd like to include some unique "crew members" depending on the # of MD invested, whether from a random list or by player decision. Things like another Tide Witch, or a beefy imp named Ogre. I can't figure it out right now, and doing so will probably take even longer than this post has already taken, so I think I'll just come back to it. Write it for me, maybe? Just kidding... unless? <3
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| Become What We Cannot "One, Two, Three" by Eelis Kyttanen |
- Corrode
R: touch T: a metal object or surface D: instant
You touch a piece of metal and ruin a [dice] inch square area (or [dice]^2 square inches). The area is shattered, rusted, twisted, and generally destroyed to a depth of [dice] inches. - Produce Cloud
R: 30' T: [sum] doses of water D: [dice] minutes
Water sprays violently from any number of sources around you to form a thin haze over [sum] congruent spaces. While not dense enough to impede vision, any objects within the affected area become damp, flames are extinguished, and creatures are momentarily surprised by the cloud's appearance. - Temerity: You halve the total [sum], condensing the mist into a thick fog. Anything caught in or viewed through the fog is considered obscured. Due to your conversion efforts, the fog no longer soaks objects or extinguish flames when it forms.
- Serenity: As part of the 1-hour ritual required to cast this spell, you submerge yourself completely in a body of water. So long as you remain underwater, this spell rolls in from off-stage as a dense fog, targeting an area at up to long range which otherwise functions as above. The cloud lasts [dice] hours or until you resurface.
- Freeze
R: 30' T: a body of water D: [dice] minutes
You instantly solidify 5x [dice] cubic feet worth of liquid. You determine the dimensions of the frozen area, but each section must be congruent with another on at least one side. A creature that would become totally encased must Save vs Entrapment, escaping to an adjacent space on a success—Frozen creatures must hold their breath. - Aqueous Blade
R: 60' T: a creature & a dose of water D: [dice] rounds
A finger-wide lash emerges from a body of water within range and drives itself into the target's flesh, dealing [sum] + [dice] damage. For as long as you concentrate, you can use an action on subsequent turns to automatically deal 1d4 damage to the target, to a maximum of 2d4 per round. If you cast this spell using 3+ MD, you can transfer the stream to another creature within 10' of the current target as part of your action—no save required. You cannot switch targets and inflict extra damage on the same turn. - Wetland Porter
R: touch T: an amphibian (1 hour) D: three days
You temporarily fuse the target with a goaded nature spirit, causing it to rapidly expand into a horse-sized familiar. The porter has 2HD (9 HP), armor as leather, and no morale score. It is friendly and will follow you around, although it is too fat and languid to support you in combat, and will flee to a safe location if attacked. The porter can carry [dice] slots worth of items in its mouth, dropping them when it dies (reverting to its original size) or the spell's duration elapses. - Temerity: Suddenly roused to action, the porter appears from out of sight to consume a target within [sum] spaces of you, trapping them within its mouth for [dice] rounds. The porter refuses to move from its target's location. Target can use an action to Save at the start of their turns, escaping on a success, or to climb out if the porter is killed.
- Undertow
R: 30' T: a creature or object D: instant
You drag the target through a liquid surface, such as mud or quicksand, moving them 5x [sum] feet in an orthogonal direction. Sending a creature upwards or downwards allows them to immediately Save, plus an additional save for every 20' traversed. - Temerity: the target is cast down by a riptide, knocking them prone.
- Call Flock
R: long T: an occupied hex (1 hour) D: 4 hours
You call down a colony of seabirds to steal from, nest with, and combat the inhabitants of a nearby encampment, squawking loudly all the while. Inhabitants cannot rest and have -1 Morale for the duration, presuming that they're semi-actively trying to rid themselves of the colony—could take more or less time. Once, you can command members of the flock to help you in some way as an action, interrupting somebody or siccing them on a small crowd. - Serenity: For 8 hours, the colony flocks overhead: The location of every large water source (coasts & rivers, oases) within [serenity] days travel of your location is revealed to you when you cast this spell. Additionally, you are alerted to the presence of any patrols, caravans, or wandering monsters that enter an adjacent, open-air hex—including the one you're currently occupying.
- Rippling Whispers
R: touch T: a body of water D: [dice] days
You speak a message totaling [sum] words into a small body of water. Anyone who disturbs the target in the allotted time, such as by drinking from it, has the message gurgled to them in your voice—shout or whisper, it's up to you. If you cast this spell using 2+ MD, you can also increase the message's trigger radius: equivalent to a [barrel/fountain/lake] full of water. - Serenity: The message is delivered through animal calls and water foliage. Although completely anonymous, it is discernible to anyone nearby, and dissolves over hours instead of days.
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| I fear a lack of happy endings "Rusalka" by EthicallyChallenged |
- Lucky Bobber. This radish-shaped fishing lure will always attract 1d3 rations when used each day. 1-in-4 chance that the last fish you catch is from the Other—it'll answer one water-related question about this hex or an adjacent one, should you release it.
- Maiden's Decanter. Has three reservoirs, each of which can hold five doses of fluid. One slot.
- Raft. What it says on the tin. Comes with oars, a little tent on the back, and enough space to fit four people comfortably. Storage remains an issue.
- Dowsing Rod.
Two foot-long branches carved from a willow tree, bent and cured to
maintain its shape. A silver ornament resembling a water lily has been
embedded into the stump connecting the two branches. Always leads you to
groundwater when traveling at a slow pace, with a 1-in-4 chance to find something special. Two slots.
- Frog-in-a-Jar. So long as the frog is alive and remains in the jar, anything you pour into the container lasts twice as long as it normally would, with a 50% chance to last another day whenever it might spoil. Currently content soaking in a few inches of milk. Three litres, two slots.
- ALWAYS BIGGER FISH. She is a light dagger,
carved from whalebone with a matching chitinous scabbard. The handle rattles violently when a predator comes within visible range. If you're already aware of its presence, she rattles when something worse comes along.
- Squid-Eyed Spectacles.
Your pupils warp while wearing these eyeglasses, crooked and dilating into impossible shapes. You can see clearly
in rain, snow & fog out to 30'. If you can keep them from falling off, they even work underwater.
- Making & Keeping Promises. This well-sewn book was a gift from a Purple Witch, embossed with the face of Sainte Maelle de Rouens. The first time that you learn a rumor in a new location, such as during downtime activity in a city, you also gain a favor. This favor applies to a random (possibly named) NPC appropriate for the downtime activity, and can be consumed in order to cast the friends spell. What, you thought this was going to be water-related? For shame.
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