Culture

As witchcraft has grown more accepted, it has become diverse and decentralized, allowing for personal interpretation and expression.

A witch finds harmony in both the light and dark aspects of the duality. This balance depends on the individual witch’s perspective and preference.

Witches possess a deep connection with the Earth, listening intently to its secret whispers. They align themselves with the lunar energies and the Lode, harmoniously working with its powers. Furthermore, witches have a profound understanding of the human soul, attuned to its desires and yearnings.

Covens

Choosing between a coven and solitary witchcraft is a deeply personal decision. Some witches are drawn to covens for shared wisdom, group support, and communal rituals. Others prefer the independence and introspection of solitary practice, guided by their own intuition and self-established principles.

Benefits

Protection & Sanctuary

In a world filled with threats, both human and supernatural, a coven offers safety in numbers. Many covens have magical wards, ancestral protections, or pacts with other beings that shield members from harm.

Synergy of the Lode

Spells become exponentially stronger when cast in unison. Covens can perform high-level rituals or long-range spells, sharing the weight of the Lode that a solitary witch might struggle to manage alone. Even mundane spells gain potency when linked through a shared bond.

Shared Resources

Coven members are more inclined to share their abilities and techniques with those they have an established bond with, as opposed to solitary witches who approach without prior connection.

Drawbacks

Loss of Autonomy

Witches in a more structured cover must often submit to ritual hierarchy, votes, or leadership decrees. Some may find their personal practices restricted or must seek approval before undertaking certain spells, pacts, or magical

Shared Consequences

If a coven member commits magical misconduct, like blood magic without sanction, or a botched summoning, the entire coven may be held accountable. Some magic in Eclipse Ridge is collective by nature: if one link fails, the whole chain can unravel.

Sabbats

Eclipse Ridge sits on a powerful convergence of ley lines known as The Lode, and the Sabbats are when those energies are at its strongest. By gathering during these celestial and seasonal thresholds, witches can tap into wild, ancient forces that are otherwise dormant.

Sabbats link witches to their origins, each ritual, song, and offering echoes what their ancestors did. The land remembers. The stars remember. Through the Sabbats, so do the witches.

Each House serves as a keeper or guardian of a Greater Sabbat. This makes them responsible for:

• Leading seasonal rites
• Maintaining spiritual balance
• Preparing sacred spaces
• Protecting others during volatile magical times

This honors their strengths and creates a yearly rhythm of leadership between the Houses.

The Crosiers

According to local lore, The Crosiers, ancient entities bound to the Ridge, only appear or speak during Sabbats. Some believe they were once witches, others say they are something older. Whatever they are, they seem to observe who participates and who abstains, and their judgment is not always forgiving. (This is a storytelling tool. More will be revealed through upcoming storylines and events).

Characteristics

Though capable of wielding magic, witches are still fundamentally human and share the same physical vulnerabilities, susceptible to illness, injury, and the limitations of the body. However, their ability to channel energy gives them a distinctly potent aura that sets them apart from non-magical humans.

Most witches begin to show signs of magical aptitude around puberty, though there are rare cases of early bloomers developing powers in childhood or late bloomers awakening their abilities well into adulthood.

Witches are capable of extending their vitality and preserving a youthful appearance far beyond the average human lifespan through magical means. Despite this, they remain mortal and are not immune to the passage of time. A witch can live up to 250 years before age inevitably claims them.

Appearance

Witches are physically indistinguishable from regular humans. Their abilities are the only way to tell them apart. Without witnessing them cast a spell or perform an incantation, you would never suspect they were anything other than ordinary.

Familiar

A Witch and their familiar share an intimate bond. Familiars often take the forms of pets and act as loyal companions to witches. According to legends, these familiars serve as spiritual guides, assuming animal forms on Earth. They are steadfast guardians and protectors, bestowed upon witches to assist them in their magical endeavors. Losing a Familiar is said to be losing a part of one’s soul.

What can familiars do?

• Familiars are considered NPC’s and only the Witch can write for their Familiar unless explicit consent was received.
• A familiar is often smarter than your average animal, as they are viewed as spiritual guides and protectors Through its bond with its Witch, the familiar’s lifespan may be extended to match that of its Witch.
• A Witch can telepathically call their Familiar to them, but the familiar must travel to them normally (no teleporting or instant arrivals) The two can understand one another as if speaking the same language.
• A Familiar can engage in combat but there must be 2 posts (intent, then attempt) A familiar can assist their witch in channeling the Load, helping to disperse the energy in the same way a coven mate might do so.
• Limitations: Only one Familiar per Witch. 
• While a Familiar may have a drastically extended lifespan due to their bond with their Witch, they are still mortal, and can be permanently injured or killed. The loss of a Familiar can be a debilitating spiritual and emotional injury, akin to losing a piece of one’s soul. As such, many witches are as fiercely protective of their familiars as the familiar is of them.
• Because a divination witch is capable of perceiving and speaking with spirits, their familiar spirit may interact with them without an animal form. They can not, however, be perceived or interact with the physical world. They can, at any time, choose to manifest into an animal form. Once in animal form, though, they can not revert back to spirit form and will follow the same rules as animal familiars.

Abilities

• Potion Brewing: The power to brew and concoct potions, remedies, and elixirs that have supernatural properties with varying effects.
• Channeling: The power to invoke the raw energy from the Lode.
• Element Control: Each witch belongs to a house that is ruled by an element. It can be an extremely daunting task to call forth an element leading to exhaustion. The severity depends on the scale in which it is used. Please see the Wayward Grimoire for more information.
• Spell Casting: One of the defining characteristics of a witch is their ability to cast spells; a “spell” being a word, a verse or incantation, ritual action, or any combination of these to carry out a magical action. Additionally, certain spells require items, tools, or a specific event (like the full moon) to occur during casting, therefore, not all spells can be invoked on a mere whim. Need ideas for spells? Take a peek at the Wayward Grimoire.
  • Things to remember:
    • Casting a spell should take 3 posts (First one to set intent, second to cast, third for reaction)
    • Any spell that would cause damage to a sim business/location or effect the entire sim (like casting fire and setting the State Park on fire) must get staff approval.

Vulnerabilities

• Mortality: Despite their mystical nature, witches remain human and are subject to many of the same vulnerabilities as non-magical individuals, such as aging, illness, suffocation, decapitation, heart failure, or a broken neck. However, through the use of protective spells, witches can temporarily shield themselves from these otherwise fatal threats.
• Overexertion: The excessive use of magic can lead to disorientation, nose bleeds, unconsciousness, and, if taken to the extreme, death.
• Disbelief: The act of denying or disbelieving in one’s potential could cause a witch to inadvertently suppress their magical power.
• Distraction: Distracting a Witch from concentrating or giving full attention to their spells, may render them ineffective. Since most spells are spoken verbally and take time to take effect, witches are vulnerable to attack before their completion.

Houses: Major & Minor

In Eclipse Ridge, witches derive their power from the Lode. Even those who move to the area find their roots deepening into its potent energy.

Universally, witches possess the ability to cast spells, create curses, and perform rituals. Witches are drawn to disciplines, or Houses, that allow them innate access to the Lode.

In Eclipse Ridge, witches develop their magic through specialized disciplines known as Houses. Upon awakening their powers, each witch chooses a Major House, one they will dedicate their life to mastering.

Witches are not restricted from studying the practices of other Houses, but true access to another House’s magic requires the corresponding gemstone, which serves as a conduit for that specific power.

Although a witch is primarily aligned with their Major House, they often show a natural affinity for a secondary, or Minor House, and may develop one of its cantrips alongside their Major. As long as they possess a gemstone attuned to the Minor House, they can cast its spells with the same proficiency as those from their Major House.

A witch can access spells and abilities from other Houses by using a gemstone aligned with that House. However, they must carefully manage their energy expenditure based on the spell’s Tier, as each gemstone holds a limited amount of Lode between full moons. Lower-tier spells (Tier 1) may be cast multiple times throughout the month, while high-tier spells (Tier 5) typically allow for a single use before the gemstone becomes depleted, unless performed with the support of a coven to help offset the energy cost. When drawing from another House, the witch is limited to casting only the spell bound to that specific gemstone until it is recharged under the next full moon.

Most witches remain loyal to their chosen House, striving to unlock its full potential and reach their Sabbat’s true expression. Although it’s possible to abandon one House for another, such shifts are rare and perilous. Severing one’s attunement risks breaking their bond with the Lode entirely, leaving them significantly weakened as they attempt to realign with a new path.

The Ruling Houses

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