The Orcish Witch Doctor

The Witch Doctor or High Shamman is an important part of the Orc community and are responsible for conducting the tribe's rituals and ceremonies. They command great fear and respect among their kin; all too often, the Chieftain is only a figurehead, while the High Shamman holds true power over the tribe. Most (75%) of Orcish Witch Doctors are female and of those many are mated to the Chieftain specifically due to their power.

They draws power from their ability to endure pain and suffering and mutilate thier own flesh, inflicting horrific scars, in order to attract the attention of thier patron God. Witch Doctors gain their abilities from the Orc Gods and evil spirits (demons, devils and evil forces) and they have insight of the supernatural which no single scholar could obtain from books no matter how long he studied, for the witch doctor has spent his life consulting and consorting with beings beyond what words could ever describe. Witch Doctors use their understanding of medicine as well as black magic to hurt others, to get revenge, help themselves at the expense of others, or to disrupt the harmony of nature. As such they are enevidably an agent of evil and are feared and respected by other orcs.

The ferocious fetish masks they wear is carved from wood and is adorned with grisly remnants of people and animals, typically blood and gristle. Most witch doctors wear their masks anytime they perform magic or interact with other orcs, but some prefer to wear them only when going into battle or communing with their patrons through the masks to prepare spells. Orc tribes hold divine magic in high regard, and witch doctors practice divine magic in addition to their arcane magic.

Each witch doctor will have their own unique style of evoking and unleashing powerful curses as each tribe will have its own sacred rituals and methods of consorting with the spirits. Witch Doctors have been known to participate in warfare, though they often leave such things in the hands of the Battle Shamman, and as such find themselves much better prepared for battle than the scholars and studiers of magics of other races, such as wizards and sorcerers; the very badges of the witch doctor's office can be used as effective weapons. Witch doctors are very much self-sustaining, as their abilities to harm are equaled by their ability to reverse and remove the very ailments they bestow, whether this be upon themselves or their allies.

Witch Doctors are particularly effective at strengthening their allies as well as weakening their enemies as seen fit, and their ability to stay out of harm's way is another added bonus. However, their lack of armor makes them an easy kill in melee combat, as their abilities focus mainly upon destroying fellow spellcasters and are less effective against those who do not rely completely on magic. Their proficiency with only basic weapons also limits their combat prowess, and although their ability to use wooden shields does allow them some protection, it may hinder their ability to cast spells and curses. They also have one additional drawback in that they are still as vulnerable to spells as the opponents they are trying to kill.

The main benefit of the Witch Doctor on the battle field is threefold. First, their appearance and reputation acts as a motivational factor; they can inspire their kin, improving their fighting ability. Moreover, they can harm morale, causing fear and doubt in their opponents. Second is their ability to Heal similarly to the healing a priest can do. Healing can keep an entire army alive during battle. The Witch Doctor is also useful for various offensive magics that can hinder an oppenent or cause greater harm.

Special Abilities of The Orcish Witch Doctor

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1. Fetish Mask: At 1st level, the Witch Doctor forms a bond with a wooden mask. As she gains power, her connection to this mask causes it to grow ever more hideous and grotesque as it absorbs the weight of the self-induced pain that underlies their magic. The spells derived from the insights their patron grants them while they endure the cuts, burns, and other sorts of mutilations they inflict upon themselves are fused into the mask and the mask acts in all ways like a witch’s familiar. Rather than communing with a familiar for insight and knowledge, the witch doctor hangs the mask on a wall, tree branch, or something similar and contemplates the agony it represents.
2. Fierce Intelligence: The Witch Doctor through their ritual communion with their Patron Gog gains an IQ stat increase of 2 points and casts spells as if a wizard of the same level however spell knowledge is granted by the Patron, not learned from study. As Witch Doctor is granted Common Knowledge Spells. These spells are as follows:
   1. Cause fear
   2. Ceremony
   3. Chaos bolt
   4. Cloud of Smoke
   5. Cloud of Fear
   6. Darkness
   7. Infestation
   8. Primal Savagery
   9. Sense Emotion
   10. Sense Magic
   11. Sudden Awakening
   12. Toll the dead
   13. Tongues
   14. Unearthly Chorus
   15. Wild cunning
   16. +10 Cantrips of choice.
   In addition character gets a D20 roll on the following chart:

   1d20	Result
   1-5	+1 1st level spell
   6-10	+2 1st level spells
   11-15	+2 1st level spells, +1 2nd level spell
   16-20	+2 1st level spells, +2 2nd level spells

3. Additional Spells: The player may select three spells of choice each level one. At each new level of experience, starting at level two, the character has been granted 1D6 new spells -select one from any level up to the character's own level of achievement/experience (i.e. a 3rd level character can select spells from either first, second or third level).
4. Hex Scar: The Witch Doctor is granted one new hex at each level starting at level two.Whenever a new a hex is granted, the Witch Doctor must carve or brand a symbol in thier flesh to represent this hex. They can disguise these scars with mundane or magical means, but they cannot be permanently removed.
   • Minor Hexes: evil eye, misfortune; scar, unnerve beasts.
   • Major Hexes: agony, cook people, infected wounds, nightmare.
   • Grand Hexes: death curse, dire prophecy, natural disaster.
5. Mask Familiar: At 5th level this Mask grants them the same abilities as the greater familiar link and in fact can take on the form of a traditional familiar only made of wood and horific to look upon
   
   The Mask is possessed by a supernatural entity or an essence fragment of the Patron God that possesses the mask as host body for its Master's essence. The mask possesses a human intelligence, can talk, is supernaturally strong and possesses psionic and magic powers of its own.
   Alignment: Any.
   Horror Factor: 10
   Armour Rating: 12
   Hit Points: 6D6+20
   S.D.C.: 1D4x10
   I.S.P.: 3D4x10
   The Eight Attributes: I.Q. 10, M.E. 19, M.A. 12, P.S. 18+1D6. P.P. 12+1D6, P.E. 18+1D6, P.B. 10, Spd 6D6+10
   cunning, devious, treacherous and can transform it's physical form to mach the form and abilities of animal host in addition to its demonic ones. Its host body is typically a horrific wooden cat, dog. wolf, rat, weasel, snake, hawk or raven/crow and inmost cases appears as skeletal.
   Supernatural Abilities:
   1. The greater familiar can speak in animal form, but when outsiders are present it will not do so without instruction from the witch. Communication is much the same as two humans conversing. It will otherwise act like the animal it resembles.
   2. Obeys only the witch and will follow his/her commands without question or hesitation, especially in combat situations. However, should the witch defy the will of his "true master," the familiar's vow of obedience is broken and it can act completely independently to betray, torment or slay the witch.
   3. A rapport between witch and familiar. Both usually have the same outlook on life. The two talk like old friends or business partners. The spiritual bond between the two is such that the familiar may also allow the witch to see. hear, feel, taste, and smell everything it experiences, but this is at the discretion of the familiar, not the witch.
   4. Supernatural bond: The witch and demon familiar are physically and spiritually linked. This connection allows the witch to draw energy from the creature whenever she needs them. Furthermore, the demon familiar endows the witch with an additional 20 hit points and 40 S.D.C. If the familiar is slain, the witch permanently loses the bonus hit points and S.D.C., plus an additional 10 hit points. This "link" also enables the witch and familiar to sense when one or the other is being tortured, battered near death and when the other dies, regardless of the distance between them. Note: The familiar is sometimes sent on brief missions that can take it several miles away, otherwise the two are constant companions.
   5. If the greater familiar is slain, the witch will never again be given a greater familiar. However, a lesser familiar (same as the familiar wizard spell) may be given as a replacement, but only after a period of time (one or two years) as punishment for allowing the death of her powerful companion.
   6. Psychic Abilities: Roll percentile dice to determine type and abilities:
      • 1-20 All psychic healer powers.
      • 21-40 All sensitive powers.
      • 41-60 All physical powers.
      • 61 -79 All sensitive and healer powers.
      • 80-89 All physical and sensitive powers.
      • 90-00 Select six super psionic powers! All psi-powers are equal to a 6th level psychic.
   • Magic Knowledge: The familiar knows all the same magic as the witch, but will only use its powers when commanded to do so, or to protect the witch or itself.
   • Attacks Per Melee: Three physical or psionic attacks, or one magic. The damage bonus is equal to the supernatural P.S. attribute.
   • Bonuses: The demon animal is +2 to save vs magic, +4 to save vs horror factor, +1 to strike, +1 parry, and +2 to dodge.
   • Size & Weight: Animal rarely larger than a dog.

When wearing the fetish mask, a Witch Doctor gains a +2 bonus on to AR and Gains a Horror Factor of 12 and gains a +2 bonus on saving throws against effects that specifically cause pain or have the pain descriptor. If the mask is destroyed, the Witch Doctor can create another fetish mask (which almost immediately adopts the shocking appearance of the original) for the same price and time it takes a Witch to replace a dead familiar.

The Orcish Witch Doctor and Weapon and Armour Proficiency:

The Orcish Witch Doctor Spell List

Level 1 Bane, Bless, Create Water, Cause Light Wounds, Dancing Lights, Deathwatch, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Detect Undead, Disrupt Undead, Doom, Grave Strike, Inflict Light Wounds, Lesser Vigor, Prestidigitation, Purify Food and Drink, Remove Fear, Resistance Level 2 Aid, Animate Dead, Bear's Endurance, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, Chain of Eyes, Contagion, Cure Moderate Wounds, Death Knell, Delay Poison, Eagle's Splendor, Fox's Cunning, Gentle Repose, Ghoul Touch, Hold Person, Lesser Restoration, Magic Weapon, Owl's Wisdom, Speak with Dead, Spiritual Weapon Level 3 Arcane Sight, Bestow Curse, Blindness/Deafness, Cure Serious Wounds, Dispel Magic, Fireball, Halt Undead, Inflict Serious Wounds, Lightning Bolt, Mass Lesser Vigor, Remove Blindness/Deafness, Remove Curse, Remove Disease, Searing Life, Vigor, Water Breathing Level 4 Arcane Eye, Break Enchantment, Contact Other Plane, Control Water, Cure Critical Wounds, Death Ward, Delay Death, Dimensional Anchor, Dismissal, Dream, Enervation, Inflict Critical Wounds, Greater Magic Weapon, Neutralize Poison, Panacea, Poison, Polymorph, Restoration, Sending, Wrack Level 5 Antilife Shell, Baleful Polymorph, Banishment, Create Undead, Ghost Trap, Greater Vigor, Harm, Heal, Insect Plague, Mass Bear's Endurance, Mass Bull's Strength, Mass Cat's Grace, Mass Cure Light Wounds, Mass Eagle's Splendor, Mass Fox's Cunning, Mass Inflict Light Wounds, Raise Dead, Mass Owl's Wisdom, Revive Outsider, Revivify, Slay Living, True Seeing, Undeath to Death, Vigorous Circle Level 6 Barghest's Feast, Blood to Water, Chain Lightning, Control Weather, Greater Bestow Curse, Greater Restoration, Legend Lore, Mass Cure Moderate Wounds, Mass Inflict Moderate Wounds, Regeneration, Resurrection, Withering Palm Level 7 Antimagic Field, Create Greater Undead, Death Pact, Etherealness, Energy Drain, General of Undeath, Mass Cure Serious Wounds, Mass Death Ward, Mass Inflict Serious Wounds, Mass Restoration, Plague of Undead, Renewal Pact, Soul Bind, True Resurrection