Edge Review:

Witchcraft

Reviewed by John Wick


  • by C. J. Carella
  • Published by Myrmidon Press
  • 220 pages
  • $22.95

You should know the name C. J. Carella. He's responsible for some really fine books in our industry, including GURPS: Martial Arts, Voodoo, and Imperial Rome. His name also shows up on a whole mess of Palladium books, including Nightspawn, which was, dare I say, daring, surprising and pretty durn good.

Now his name appears on this new book from Myrmidon Press called Witchcraft. His name on the cover was the product's first attraction, it also has a bunch of other names attached to it that you should keep a look out for. Witchcraft is a beautiful book, in every way, shape, and form. The art of R. K. Post is the most noteworthy, but all of them deserve high praise indeed. The mood is dark and subtle, reflecting the brand of magic players will be encountering in this book.

Witchcraft, at first glance, falls under the category of "modern horror" that many recent games do. But don't be deceived. Many of these games emphasize tragedy. Witchcraft emphasizes empowerment. You can make a difference in this dark, dirty and dangerous world. The change in attitude is refreshing. Players take the roles of "The Gifted," folks who are sensitive to the occult energies that surround all of us oblivious mundanes.

First, players choose a Covenant, which is reminiscent of the Traditions in White Wolf's Mage. They can choose Wicce (the "witches" of history and myth), Rosicrucians (secret society sorcerers), Sentinels (Christian miracle workers), The Twilight Order (necromancers), The Cabal of Psyche (traditional psychics rather than magicians), and Solitaires (folks who have learned all this stuff on their own).

From there, they choose to either be a Major Gifted (average stats/skills, super magic), a Minor Gifted (average stats, above average skills, some magic) or a Mundane (above average stats/skills and no magic), thus spreading Character Points over the character sheet. The templates provided show the diversity of the character generation system, including a Wicce Private Eye, a Rosicrucian Stage Magician, a Solitaire Ghost Hunter and a Sentinel Warrior-Scholar.

So, just what do the characters you create in Witchcraft do? Well, there's a whole lot of bad juju going on out there. There's evil sorcerers, sorcerous secret societies, demons, vampyres, restless ghosts and a whole bunch more. Most of them aren't willing to play nice, and if you've read any Stephen King/Anne Rice/Dean Koontz books lately, you should already be getting plenty of ideas.

The rules are the most clouded part of the product. It's almost as if Mr. Carella loses his voice of authority right around this point in the book The game system that drives the whole thing is rather clever. The "Unisystem" allows you to play with dice, cards or none of the above. Its rather simple, using the "Attribute+Skill+Die Roll" bit, using d4s, d6s, d8s, and d10s, or "draw a card and add the result." It's pretty simple and straightforward, but kind of clunky in some places. It's almost as if there was a lot of thought put into the background, and the game system was more of an afterthought.

Of course, the most important question to ask about a game called Witchcraft is: "How does the magic system work?" Well, there's more than one. There's a "magic system", a "psychic system" and a whole section devoted to miracles and necromancy. It all involves drawing occult energy to one's self, focusing it, then releasing it.

Now, that sounds easy, but in Witchcraft, summoning energy means drawing a lot of attention and trouble to yourself. Channeling is no walk in the park, either. Lastly, you have to find a way to release the energy, and of course, if you suddenly find that you can't ... well, you're just in a whole new world of hurt.

Fans of the World of Darkness (especially Mage) will really enjoy Witchcraft, but so will others. It's a very intelligent horror game for folks who cringe when they look at the way magic works in a traditional FRP. Yes, you can fling fireballs and toss lightning bolts, but there's something to be said for a bit of hemlock, eye of toad and a good old fashioned curse, isn't there?

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© Copyright 1996 by Alderac Entertainment Group

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