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The new classes in Unorthodox Witches all contain elements commonly associated with the mythology of witches. No one class really mimics the classical witch, however, which is a bit of a disappointment. Since there isn?t a witch class within the D&D core rules, it would have been interesting to see at least a core or prestige class in this product that attempted to emulate the potion-brewing, broom rider of mythology. As it is, we have potion-brewers and we have broom riders, but we don?t have a lot of both.
As a whole, the new classes are a pretty creative takes on the idea of ?witches.? The Beguiler is a magical charmer, the Crescent Flyer the iconic broom rider, and the Wyrd One is a mistress of fate. Other classes include the Gyria, the Moon Dancer, and the Shade Summoner.
The Le?s art is good for a small publisher. Unorthodox Witches uses some pieces by Larry Elmore, as well as some well-chosen clip art. The art?s not up to the full-color illustrations of Wizards of the Coast, but it goes a long to adding to the book?s professional look.
I?ve criticized some of The Ley?s past projects for poor writing and editing. While there are a number of small errors, Unorthodox Witches doesn?t seem to suffer from the volume of mistakes I?ve seen in other products. There are instances of what I found to be poor wording, but the class flavor and rules intent rarely suffer adversely because of it. A particularly humorous mistake can be found in the Shade Summoner?s insanities chart, in which the authors continually use the word ?the Player? where they actually mean ?the character.? As in, ?the Player gains an eating disorder.? That?s one heck of a committed roleplayer.
Game balance is at times questionable, although for some reason The Ley tends to lean toward underpowered when they make these mistakes. The Crescent Flyer, for example, gains a favored enemy ability every few levels. While favored enemy is a logical power given the class?s description, I?m not sure how useful a bonus to damage would be to a non-combat class. The additional bonuses that the ability provides to Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks would probably balance things out a bit?if the Crescent Flyer actually had more than one of these skills on her class list.
The Moon Dancer is another victim of really underpowered class abilities. Many of her powers hinge on her ability to make a successful skill check during a certain event or time of the day. In one case, all she gets for her effort is the ability to prepare spells from the cleric?s Sun domain. That seems like a lot of in-game work to go through just to gain the ability to prepare Heat Metal.
In another example, the Wyrd One, whose powers deal with the manipulation of fate and fortune, doesn?t get any kind of luck ability until 13th level. At that point, she gains the power to reroll up to three failed saving throws per day. Note that a cleric with access to the Luck domain can reroll any roll once per day starting at first level. The Wyrd?s ability is slightly better (if only because it can be used more times per day), but why must she wait 13 levels to acquire it?
It?s a shame that the Wyrd One?s abilities aren?t better designed, because the idea of a woman that pulls the threads of fate is very?witchy. The non-mechanic aspects of the class, particularly the names and descriptions of the class abilities, are very evocative. Still, as cool as ?Fire Burns and Cauldron Bubbles? sounds, it?s disappointing to learn that it simply allows the Wyrd One to boil a whole cauldron of water in 1d6 rounds. Granted, there is no listed game benefit to doing so, but hey?that?s a whole cauldron of water.
All of this isn?t to say that there aren?t good things to be found in Unorthodox Witches. The Gyria is a clever class seemingly inspired by the legends of the gypsies. The Shade Summoner, which is probably the best designed class of the whole group, is a Summoner that specializes in conjuring up ghosts and other spirits. I have small balance concerns with both of these classes, but nothing that can?t be easily fixed with a few slight modifications.
I think the best part of Unorthodox Witches is the ideas behind the classes. Instead of giving generic witch classes, The Ley has designed a half-dozen core classes (plus one prestige) that positively drip with witchy flavor.
The book ends with a number of new magic items, called Baubles and Urus. These are a new kind of magic item that can be infused with an existing weapon, shield, or other bit of gear. Once so infused, the target item gains certain powers depending on the bauble / uru used. I have mixed feeling about this section. The concept isn?t a bad one, and some of the powers are certainly useful, but there is a major flaw: I can?t find a price on a single bauble. Also, this section really has nothing whatsoever to do with witches in general, or any of the classes presented in this book. Since it?s just an appendix and it seems to be tacked on as an added bonus, I?ve decided not to alter my final score based on this section.<br><br>
<b>LIKED</b>: I didn?t realize that my D&D game needed some kind of witch class until I downloaded this book. Some of the ideas here are very cool, and a reworked version of a few of these classes will probably find a home in my campaign. A appreciate the flavor given to each class, and an honest effort was made to fit each concept into the overall fantasy milieu.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: There are enough small errors (both in the design and the writing) that I can?t give Unorthodox Witches better than three stars. It does very well with flavor and concept, but it falls through too often when it comes to actual design and implementation.
So, I guess its three for effort.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>
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