Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/09/100-days-of-halloween-witches-spellcraft.html

Witches & Spellcraft

PDF. 15 Pages. PWYW. Full-color art.

Ok, to start off I have to say I really love the art in this. It is not a lot and it is mostly character art, but since characters are the focus of this game that is 100% fine with me. And the art is good. You can see the cover and those might be my least favorite, but I still like them a lot.

The game is designed for one Head Witch and four other witches, but that number is variable. You fill out your school sheet and witch sheet as a group. The Head Witch then helps guide the story along as a game master/GMPC.

Rolls are simple, largely a 2d8 plus or minus various modifiers. Rolls of 10 or greater are a success and you can get even better success with higher rolls. There are also failures.

The game covers spell creation and there are worksheets for your witch and school.

I think it is lacking a good example of play BUT I also see how such an example could also be limiting to new players. They might end up just following the example.

While you could use this game to say make your own school of witchcraft in the Scottish Highlands, it feels better suited to properties like Sabrina or the Magicians or even something like the mobile game Switchcraft or a new take on The Craft.

There is an actual play video. It is 4 hours long, but gives you some ideas how the game can be played.

If I were the developers here I would do this but break it up into chunks for new players to digest.

In any case, this is another fun game. I am so pleased I found it.

Cute! Very simplistic and easy to learn! But I wonder if it might be too simplistic? That is to say, there are certain mechanics it lacks that I wonder if the system might benefit from the addition of.

For example, the system of leveling up the spells sort of implies that there's going to be some risk in using your spells, and therefore implies there may be combat scenarios. However, there isn't any system in place (that I saw) that tracks the ability for witches to stay in the fight (like Hit Points in other systems). More to that point, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of what failure and consequences mean in the story, and how much the consequences should truly effect the story. Should failure be as devastating as it potentially is in a grim dark game like Dungeon Crawl Classics or Warhammer, or is it more lighthearted? (To be clear, I think it's obviously more lighthearted, but knowing the difference between tone can be vital for how long the players are willing to commit to the narrative; is it Maid RPG kind of lighthearted, or is it more like Mouseguard?)

For keeping track of consequences and their effect on the story, a Countdown Clock, like in Powered by the Apocalypse games, might be an appropriate and simple addition to the system for keeping track of a character's physical state, their emotional state, the threat of a monster or magical force to the school, and a whole slew of other ideas.

Overall, really cute idea, but I think there's room for just a little more complexity in certain areas. You might want to consider adding a section in a future edition (or maybe even simply a future book of optional rules) that either provides alternative rules or suggests homebrewing if areas come up that need more fleshing out mechanically speaking.

Nonetheless, it looks fun, and I'm looking forward to trying it out and seeing more of it!