---
title: Wands in Twilight Come Hither
subtitle: A game about teenage magic and growing up
---

WITCH is a game about a close­-knit group of teenage characters
with magical powers, called a coven, and the adventures they have.
We play to watch them stumble toward adulthood,
and see the price of life's lessons.

WITCH is based on the "Forged in the Dark" game rules.

Touchstones: this game is meant to emulate the characters from
fiction such as the "Harry Potter" series, "Little Witch Academia",
"Kiki's Delivery Service", "Magic User's Club", "Hilda",
"Over the Garden Wall", and "Labyrinth":
characters encountering and wielding magic as they grow up.

## How to Play

The game requires 3­-6 players, one of whom will
be the Mentor. Mentors facilitate the game, keep
things flowing, present challenges, and ask
questions. Everyone else will play a Witch.
Witches can be of any gender or other
persuasion. Magic calls to all. Everyone will play
at least one character in the game, although
Witch and Mentor characters are created differently.

## The Core System

The game will shift between three styles of play:
**free play**, where characters goof off or attend
classes or do odd jobs, the **adventure**, where
characters work together to achieve a goal or
confront a challenge, and **downtime**, where the
coven experiences the after­effects of adventuring.

When you play, the group will face questions: if
our characters try to do a thing, what happens?
The rules exist to help answer these questions,
but they never dictate the results.

Players always control how they do a thing ­- via
persuasion, brains, magic, instinct. The Mentor
always controls the risks or effectiveness of that
"how", and whether to use dice to answer any
questions that arise.

## Progress Clocks

When the Mentor needs to keep track of the
passage of time, maintain tension, or otherwise
let things happen in the background, they can
create a progress clock. Draw a circle that has
4, 6, or 8 segments, like pie or pizza slices. When
something happens that would make progress
on the situation the clock represents, fill in one
of the segments. When all the segments are
filled, whatever was ticking down comes to
fruition. Many rules will lead to one or more
segments of a clock being filled in.

## Rolling Dice

Whenever a rule tells you to roll dice, you'll be
rolling one or more six-­sided dice. If a rule says a
number with a "d" after it, like "1d", that's a
number of dice. Some rules give you bonus dice,
like "+1d".

Roll all the dice you have, and look for two
things: the highest result on any of the dice, and
(if you got a 6) whether you got multiple 6's,
called a critical. The "result" of the roll is the
highest result you got. Some types of rolls care
about criticals, others don't.

If you ever have to roll, and you don't have any
dice, roll 2d and take the lowest result on the two
dice. You can never get a critical on this kind of
roll, even if you roll a pair of 6's.

## Actions and Attributes

There are nine actions in the game, grouped into
three attributes.

### Brains

When you **Fiddle**, you make repairs or changes
to a thing, like repairing the spine of a book,
picking a lock, or affixing gems to a new magic
wand.

When you **Study**, you pay close attention to
something or someone.

When you **Theorize**, you study or develop
magical phenomena, like a new spell, an
alchemical potion, a mysterious ritual circle, or a
ghostly dragon.

### Guts

When you **Duel**, you challenge someone else to
a physical or magical fight, whether to harm or
disarm.

When you **Scurry**, you move somewhere else
quickly or efficiently, whether running, jumping,
riding on a flying broomstick, or clinging to a
wild gryphon.

When you **Tiptoe**, you avoid detection by
sneaking around, being quiet, anticipating where
you might be seen, or just blending in.

### Heart

When you **Chat**, you talk casually and openly
with someone else, to learn information,
convince someone of something, or just make
them feel better.

When you **Feel**, you get in touch with your own
emotions or those of someone else, to
empathize, comfort, or understand.

When you **Yell**, you forcefully get someone's
attention, shout them down, or get through to
them if they aren't listening.

## Stress

Witches have a reserve of points, called stress,
that shows how they are coping with the
awkwardness, uncertainty, frustration, and
terror of their lives. Strange spells, mystic
monsters, ancient arcana, and watching your
crush walk down the hall can all be a source of
stress. Several rules let the characters gain or
lose stress.

When a Witch marks their tenth box of stress,
they take a Maturity condition, and clear their
stress track.

## Maturity

When Witches push themselves out of their
comfort zone, they learn the painful but
necessary lessons of adulthood. These marks of
maturity are good for the Witch as a person, but
they pull the Witch away from the carefree
adventures the game is about.

* Reliable: you always do things you agree to do
* Careful: you show caution and restraint
* Fair: you consider opposing positions or try to maintain objectivity
* Patient: you don't rush into situations, but let things happen at their own pace
* Humble: you don't put your own needs or wants ahead of others'

Maturity conditions are permanent. Once you
learn one of life's hard lessons, there's no going
back to how things used to be. Once you've
marked your third Maturity condition, your
Witch is ready to leave the game at some
appropriately quiet time. Mature Witches can
reappear as NPCs, at the Mentor's option.

## Action Rolls

When your character does something
challenging, you make an action roll to find out
how it turns out. Actions have a clear goal in
mind, a clear way the character is doing it, and a
clear idea of how it can go wrong. If the
character just wants to avoid something
happening to them, that's a resistance roll.

To make an action roll:

* Declare your goal for the action ("I want...")
* Choose the ability you're using to achieve it ("I'm Studying")
* The Mentor sets the position for the roll, based on your narration ("that sounds Risky")
* The Mentor sets a effect level
* Optionally, trade position for effect
* Determine bonus dice
* Roll ability and bonus dice
* Determine the outcome

### Setting the position

The possible positions are **Boring**, **Risky**, and
**Stupid**. Boring actions are low­risk, low­reward
actions like library research where failure is still
possible, but not dramatic. Risky actions are
challenging, but can pay off if successful. Stupid
actions are foolhardy, dangerous, or desperate,
things you only do when things are bad. The
default position is Risky.

### Setting the effect level

The possible effect levels are **Limited**,
**Standard**, and **Great**. Limited effects happen
when what you're doing won't make much of a
difference, or the Mentor isn't convinced your
approach will work out well ("I am befriending
him with Duel"). Standard effects are normal
outcomes: what you did made sense, and will be
fruitful. Great effects are very appropriate or
game­changing rolls, the right action at the right
time. The default effect is Standard.

## Making the Roll

Roll your ability rating in six­sided dice, plus any
bonus dice you earned.

* If you got any 6's, you got a Full Success. You do the thing you wanted.
* If you got more than one 6, you also get got a Critical Success. Raise the effect level up by one (e.g. from Standard to Great). If it's already Great, the Mentor will give you some bonus beyond that.
* If your highest roll was a 4 or 5, you got a Partial Success. You do it, but something else happens.
* If your highest roll was a 3 or less, you got a Bad Outcome. You don't do it, and something else happens.

If you didn't get a Full or Critical success, the
Mentor picks what happens, based on the
fictional situation. If you're not sure what to
pick, choose one from this list on a Partial
success, and two on a Bad Outcome.

* You hesitate or falter. You can try a different approach at no penalty (Boring only)
* There's a consequence (reduced effect, immediate peril, or other complications)
* You're put in a worse position next time (going from Boring to Risky to Stupid)
* You lose the opportunity (Stupid only)

## Action Roll Effects

After making an action roll, the Mentor narrates
the outcome. Sometimes the outcome only
applies to the fiction ("you grabbed the right
book off the shelf before you got noticed"). But
most of the time, there will be other mechanical
effects, like making progress on a clock, or
raising scrutiny.

In general, positive outcomes like this depend on
the effect level you got, and negative outcomes
depend on the position you rolled from.

When talking about progress clocks, scrutiny, or
other counters, Boring positions or Limited
effects mean 1 tick, Risky positions or Standard
effects mean 2 ticks, and Stupid positions or
Great effects mean 3 ticks. Effects beyond great
mean 5 ticks.

### Progress Clocks

The Mentor can mark progress on a clock. For
successful actions, this should be a positive
clock, like one measuring progress toward a
goal. For consequences, this should be a negative
clock, like one indicating how close an enemy is
to finding the characters. If it makes sense to
start a new clock, do this instead.

### Scrutiny

If the characters' actions would draw attention
from adults who have power and influence over
them, increase the level of scrutiny. See the
section on Adventures for more details.

## Resistance Rolls

When a character is in peril, they can choose to
resist the worst of the consequences. Make a
resistance roll using dice equal to the attribute
(Brains, Guts, Heart) that reflects how you are
resisting. You take 6 stress, minus the result of
the roll.

For example, a character with Chat 2 and
Empathize 1, but no Yell score, has a Heart
resistance of 3. If they roll a 2, 4, and 5, they
would take (6 -­ 5) or 1 point of stress.

The consequences you would have otherwise
taken are negated or reduced. Resistance rolls
can apply to many kinds of harm. When in
doubt, ask the Mentor if resistance is possible.
You can apply any kind of bonus dice to
resistance rolls, as long as it makes sense.

## Fortune Rolls

When something is happening and the group
just wants to see how it goes, make a fortune roll.
Fortune rolls are based on the situation, not on a
Witch's personal stats.

Some Fortune rolls start with 1d, then have you
answer a few questions that can add (or remove)
dice from your roll. Others might be rolled on a
numerical value, the way an action roll uses a
Witch's action score.

You usually can't apply bonus dice to fortune
rolls, but ask the Mentor if it makes sense in
individual cases.

## Assisting

If another Witch can assist you with a roll, they
mark 1 stress and you get +1d. Their player
describes how the assistance happens.

## Challenging Yourself

You can use stress to challenge yourself to try
harder or go bigger. For each bonus you choose
from the list, take 2 stress. You can pick each
bonus only once.
* Add +1d to any roll
* Gain 1 level of effect
* Take an action while you're otherwise incapacitated

## Chaos

Sometimes, a situation gets out of control, all on
its own. The characters don't anticipate the
consequences of their actions, a hidden trap is
triggered, an old spell is activated, or the hat
they borrowed belongs to the senior provost.
When a player is making a roll, anyone ­ the
Mentor, other players, even that player ­ can
suggest a chaotic outcome. If the rolling player
and the Mentor both accept the suggestion, the
roll gets a bonus of 1d. The outcome happens,
whether or not the roll succeeds.
Typical chaotic outcomes are:
* Unintended consequences or unwanted harm
* Loss of Image or an important item
* A betrayal of a friend or loved one
* Loss of Goodwill from a faction
* Progress on a new or existing clock
* Extra Scrutiny from adult authorities

## Friendship

The coven as a whole has a pool of dice called
Friendship, representing their bonds as friends
and fellow witches. Any character can gain +1d
on an action from Friendship. Friendship
normally resets to a pool of 2 dice at the start of
an adventure.

## Image

As your character adventures, you will gain a
resource called **Image**. Image is a combination
of your reputation, how other characters see you,
and how you see yourself. Image doesn't just
come from growing up or doing ordinary things
with your friends. It comes from adventure,
magic, and wonder, but it also comes from
struggle and success.

Your Image starts at 0, and goes up as you
adventure. You can "spend" Image in various
ways, by sacrificing your time, imposing on
people around you and asking for favors, or
putting up with frustration and annoyance to get
something done that's important to you.

* Spend 1 Image to get an extra activity during downtime
* Spend 1 Image to raise the result level of a downtime activity roll
* Spend Image to avoid certain types of fallout after an adventure
* Give some Image at the end of an adventure to another Witch

## Fate

Your Fate is how much Image you've built up at
the end of your adventures. When you've marked
your last Maturity condition, or any other time
when your character moves on from the childlike
adventures as a Witch, look at how much Image
you've accumulated. This determines your Fate
as an eventual adult:

* 0­-10: a disreputable or sad witch
* 11-­20: an inferior or typical witch
* 21-­39: a successful or happy witch
* 40+: an extraordinary witch

Magic demands much of a character, and some
people are happier putting it aside as they grow
up. You can sacrifice your magical potential to
gain a Fate one level higher, but as a mundane
person.

## Coven Creation

All players decide as a group which type of coven
they will be playing: City Witches, Forest
Witches, or School Witches. The Mentor should
make a copy of that coven's sheet, and keep track
of elements on it.

Your choice of coven largely tells you what kinds
of things you'll do in the game, what sorts of
challenges you'll face, and what adventures you
might go on. You might have friends or
acquaintances aside from the people in the
coven, but these are the folks that will charge
into the dragon's lair with you (metaphorically
or literally). Your coven also has a reputation
with people.

## Witch Creation

When you start the game as a group, everyone
will need to create a character. The Mentor
player defines the nature of their Mentor
character (teachers, townsfolk, old wise people
of the wood, etc.), and how they relate to the
Witch characters. Mentor characters have no
stats, and the Mentor player never rolls dice.

Each Witch player then does the following:

* Pick a playbook from the list of playbooks that follows, and make a copy of the sheet
* Distribute 5 dots across the nine abilities on that sheet
* Pick one or two insecurities, which are things your character worries about, e.g. your appearance, your school studies, relationships, your family's approval, your magical ability (or lack of it), and so on.
* Look at the playbook's contacts list, and pick one contact to be a friend, and another to be a rival or enemy
* Record your character's name, appearance, background, and anything else important to know

## Advancement

Your characters grow and change in many ways.
Characters accumulate experience (XP) that let
them improve their confidence, improve their
action scores, or grant them new abilities.

At any time during play, you earn XP:
* When you make a Stupid roll, for any reason, and whether or not it succeeds

At the end of the adventure, you earn XP:
* When you pursue your ideals and goals, or when your background comes into play in the story
* When you struggle with your insecurities or Maturity conditions
* When you meet your individual playbook's XP trigger
* When any other rule indicates that you can mark XP

You can spend earned XP at any time in the following ways:
* Spend 4 points to grant yourself 1 point of Image, as your adventures improve your self-confidence
* Spend 6 points to raise a single action rating by one, up to a maximum of 3
* Spend 8 points to buy a new playbook ability

## Coven Advancement

At the end of the adventure, the coven earns XP:

* When it met the coven sheet's XP trigger
* When it took on a significant challenge
* When it reinforced its reputation or developed a new one
* When its members developed or reinforced their relationships to each other (may be marked twice)
* When the coven met its specific XP condition

The coven can choose to spend XP at any time in the following ways:
* Spend 8 points to buy a new coven ability or unlock a friendship perk
* Spend 4 points to buy a new coven resource

## Adventures

Witches spend time with friends, play games,
sleep, eat, and perhaps attend school. But they
also explore strange places, investigate odd
happenings, and confront bad people. These
exciting moments of their lives are collectively
called **adventures**.

The reason a coven of Witches goes on an adventure is called the spark:

* Anger: the coven is upset about something, such as someone getting hurt
* Confusion: the coven misunderstands a situation, or wishes for something to be covered up, such as a mysterious threatening figure who is secretly friendly
* Fear: the coven is afraid of something, such as a mythical monster or other peril
* Mystery: the coven wants to understand something, like a strange spell or a friend sneaking out at night
* Relationships: the coven wants social contact, such as helping a friend or recruiting someone to help them
* Travel: the coven wants to get somewhere, either for a specific reason, or just to explore

The spark of an adventure can happen in many ways:
* Free play suggests an adventure idea, as the Witches learn about something and decide to pursue it
* A Witch's friends or enemies place demands on them, such as a rival's public dare to enter the mysterious forest
* A Witch wants to address one of their insecurities, such as learning of a magic book that will improve their grades
* A Witch has a goal that can only be satisfied by an adventure
* A threat or mystery appears in the area

## Trappings

Witches are young magic­-users, and they carry
all manner of strange and wonderful items to aid
them. Characters in fiction are often revealed to
have just the right item for the adventure they
are on, and our witches are the same. Rather
than choosing *what* you carry when the
adventure begins, you make a decision about
*how much* you're carrying. This is a number
between 2 and 5, and it's how many trappings
you can pick.

Your trappings are things like a magic wand, a
broom for flying, and so on. During the
adventure, when you discover a need for one of
the trappings on your playbook sheet, mark it as
something your'e carrying. You can't mark more
trappings than the number you selected at the
start of the adventure, though.

## Engagement

Once the spark of an adventure has been found,
the group will make an engagement roll. This is a
fortune roll, starting with 1d. The Mentor
answers these questions, and adds or removes
dice. Then another player makes the roll.

* Is this adventure particularly selfish, benefiting only one or a few people at a cost to others? Take ­-1d.
* Is it particularly selfless, doing something good for another person? Take +1d.
* Is the focus of the adventure notably practical, boring, or pedestrian? Take -­1d.
* Is the focus wondrous, magical, or strange? Take +1d.
* Are any rivals or authorities interfering in the adventure? Take ­-1d.
* Can any of your friends or contacts provide aid or insight for the adventure? Take +1d.
* Are you going up against a scary obstacle or into an unexplored or dangerous area? Take -­1d.
* Are you doing something safe, or in a well-known area? Take +1d.

## Playing Through the Adventure
It's not fun to game through packing lunches,
stuffing backpacks with odds and ends, saying
goodbye to friends, or walking for hours through
a forest when nothing happens. The purpose of
the engagement roll is to get the characters right
into the action. The Mentor sets the scene based
on the outcome of that roll:

* On a Critical Success (multiple 6's), the group has overcome one obstacle, and the next action will be Boring
* On a Full Success (a 6), the group is ready for anything, and the next action will be Boring by default
* On a Partial Success (a 4 or 5), the group is taking chances, and the next action will be Risky
* On a Bad Outcome (a 1­3), the witches are in over their heads, and their next move will be Stupid

In addition to the engagement roll, the Mentor starts one or more progress clocks:
* A clock showing progress toward the adventure goal, if it makes sense to keep track of this (for example, if the goal is to explore, a clock might indicate how much of the area has been discovered)
* A clock marking Scrutiny, which shows how much negative attention adults or authority figures are paying to the witches' actions

Every time the Scrutiny clock ticks town,
the Mentor will mark a point of Trouble,
and starts a new Scrutiny clock.
Trouble affects entanglements,
and can only be removed by the Behave downtime action.

Once the engagement roll has been made, and
the Mentor has described how the Adventure
has begun, the Witches play through the
scenario, using action rolls, resistance rolls, and
narratiing as appropriate.

There are two special actions witches can take
during adventures: flashbacks and ritual magiic.

## Flashbacks

When it makes sense that a witch would be ready
for something now because of something that
happened earlier, the player can declare a
flashback. Examples include a bookworm
studying up on magic at the library, a chance
meeting of an eager witch with a helpful old
man, or the revelation of the secret history of an
important trinket someone is carrying.

Flashbacks are resolved just like any other
action. However, they can come at a cost. If the
Mentor feels that the flashback is complex or
improbable, the player must pay 1 stress. If it's
an elaborate or unbelievable flashback, the
player must pay 2 or more stress. If the player
pays this cost (assuming there is one), they can
proceed with the flashback, along with any
action rolls or other mechanics that are called
for. Alternately, a flashback can represent a
downtime activity, like researching just the right
spell for the occasion. In this case, pay in Image
rather than stress.

## Protection and Setup Actions

If it makes sense to do so, a witch can make a
resistance roll to protect themselves or another
character from harm. Some playbooks, like the
Underdog, have improved ways of doing this,
but anyone can attempt it if the narration makes
sense.

If a witch's actions have no effect other than
setting up another character for success (such as
causing a distraction, or analyzing a weird spell
and relaying the results), then on a success, the
player can declare that the recipient of this aid
gets either an improved position or improved
effect on their next action.

## Ritual Magic

When things are bad, witches can gather their
power and create a group magical working. Any
character who wants to participate adopts a
position in a ritual circle formation: North to
anchor and secure the working from harm,
South to draw up magical power to fuel the
working, East to radiate the energies, West to
unify and harmonize the group, and Center to
direct and control the magic. Only the Center
position must be filled.

Everyone in the ritual makes an action roll,
using the same action (chosen by the player
leading the ritual). The overall result is as
though everyone's die rolls had been made in a
single action roll. However, the witch at the
Center takes 1 stress for every other person who
rolled a 1­-3 as their best result.

Ritual magic can benefit from assists, setup
actions, and all other benefits to an action roll.

## Mentor Intervention

In some dire cases, the adventure spells doom
for the characters. They're trapped by a hostile
dragon, or about to be engulfed by a volcano, or
the evil wizard is about to transform them all
into pangolins. In such cases, it's acceptable for
the Mentor's adult character to make an
appearance, saving the day. If this happens, the
adventure will not grant any Image, and the
Mentor marks Trouble. The witches will be
admonished later, but at least they're alive. This
is the only way Image will not be granted at the
end of the adventure.

## Downtime

After the adventure is finished, the Mentor will
award Image and handle entanglements. Once
this is done, players can declare downtime
actions.

## Image

Adventures are exhausting and scary, but
actually completing them is an amazing feeling.
Every character receives between 1 and 5 Image,
based on the scope and scariness of the
adventure: 1 for a fun frolic in the woods, 5 for
defeating a major adversary or discovering an
amazing secret.

If an individual witch used as many trappings as
the allowance they chose, and each of their
trappings was applicable only once to the
adventure, they gain 1 extra Image for good
planning.

In addition, each player gets the same amount as
Image that they can award to other players of
their choice. This can be for heroic action,
comedic moments, good roleplaying, or anything
else a player chooses to reward. For example,
Alice receives 3 Image for a moderately
challenging adventure. She gets 3 more to give
out, and gives 2 to Bob and 1 to Carol.

## Entanglements

Witches don't have adventures in their own little
world. They'll interact with people, and their
actions can have consequences on the people
around them. The coven starts the game in a
neutral relationship with every faction in the
game (such as teachers at school, townsfolk, and
so on). Like a character's contacts, a faction as a
whole can be on good or bad terms with the
coven as a whole.

At the end of the adventure, the Mentor looks at
how much Trouble the characters have created.
For each point of Trouble, move a faction's
relationship down by one (from good to neutral
to bad). The coven then receives 2 or more
points of Goodwill, representing the positive
impressions they've made during their
adventures. These points can be spent raising
faction relationships back up the same way
(from bad to neutral to good).

## Entanglement Scenes

Once faction relationships have changed, the
Mentor decides how this manifests, and narrates
something appropriate. Perhaps one faction
sends a member to congratulate the coven ­ but
another is on the war path, and sends an angry
representive out for blood. The goals of the
entanglement scene is to see how the witches'
actions have changed the world around them,
and to spark new adventures.

If appropriate, play through a scene in which the
characters must confront these people.
Otherwise, the Mentor can sum up what
happens, and offer a cost or complication, such
as the loss of Image (if a faction punishes or
condemns the witches).

## Downtime Activities

Each witch can engage in two downtime
activities automatically. Witches can pay Image
to do more (representing overworking
themselves or imposing on others), and some
playbooks have rules giving them extra actions
as well.

### Acquire Asset

A witch can get ahold of something useful, but
that will only last a short while, such as a potion,
the use of a magic spell, or a favor. The witch
automatically adds this item to their trappings
on the next adventure, and it does not cost
against their usual trappings limits. To acquire
something permanently, use a long­term project.

### Long­-Term Project

Witches can pursue goals (research draco-
centaurs, acquire a rare grimoire, get a faster
broom, teach a familiar to play harmonica). To
make progress on such goals, the Mentor
establishes a progress clock, and the witch
makes an appropriate action roll, marking ticks
on the clock as usual. When the clock finishes,
the goal has been satisfied.

### Train

Spend time learning something new, or
collecting your thoughts about your recent
adventures, or studying something you brought
back from one of them. Regardless of how it
works, you can mark 1 XP, or 2 if your training
revolves around something the coven specializes
in. See the coven sheet for details.

### Behave

Sometimes you just have to buckle down and
play by the rules. Every Behave downtime action
reduces the coven's Trouble by 1. If you spend
Image to get a bonus action and Behave, it
means you got called on the carpet by someone
important, and chewed out. Otherwise, it means
a period of doing what you're supposed to be
doing, under the watchful eye of someone in
authority.

### Act Out

When you need to relieve yourself of the burden
of growing up, and just be yourself for awhile,
sometimes you have to push back on peoples'
demands on you. Choose something that
happened during the adventure or an insecurity,
and declare what you do based on that.
Examples:
* start drama
* argue with friends or family about something
* isolate yourself (in your room or by sneaking out)
* rebel against a rule
* obsess over a hobby

Then roll dice equal to your lowest attribute
rating (Brains, Guts, Heart), and reduce your
stress by the value shown. If you reduce more
stress than you actually have, decide what
happens:

* Someone comes down on you (mark 2 Scrutiny)
* You make the coven look bad (roll another entanglement)
• You are grounded (out of the action for a few days to a week)

## Home Locations

The game was inspired by British and European
folklore and mythology. You can choose to set
your game anywhere and anywhen. For games
set in the default setting, though, here are some
typical locations for witchy adventure.
Cobblespire, Broombridge, and the Gloaming
Woods are all close enough to each other for
witches to easily visit (whether via flying broom
or on foot). While some parts of these places
might be dangerous, witches can find spots to
live in safety and comfort. The Mentor
determines the placement and travel time to
other locations.

## Cobblespire Academy

This is the only official school of magic in the
entire region, and the default home of a School
Witches coven. Cobblespire is a sprawling,
ancient collection of buildings, with towers
reaching to cloudy skies. Vines reach up the
walls from the herb­rich gardens. Room after
room is thick with spider­webs and stacked
tomes. Teachers in pointy hats instruct their
students in ancient spells, while students gather
in the commons and their own rooms to
socialize, study, or scheme.

Cobblespire has its share of problems (pick one or more):

* The school is a shadow of its former glory and has fallen on hard times
* The school is threatened by some outside source, perhaps with inside assistance
* Magic is fading, and the school is carefully shepherding the power that's left

## Broombridge

This is a major city, isolated by surrounding
forests and farmland, but vibrant and varied. It
is the default home of a City Witches coven.
Broombridge is a melange of architectural styles,
old manors and new shops, fountains and parks,
statues to the folk heroes of olden time, homes
and gardens. Sturdry farmers come to sell their
wares to friendly city folk.

Broombridge has a history with magic (pick one or more):
* The people know magic is real, but don't always like witches (why?)
* The people aren't sure that magic is real or not, and some might react badly if it's revealed
* The people need the help of witches, but resent feeling needy

## The Gloaming Woods

This is the name for the forests which fill the
region, and is the default home of a Forest
Witches coven. Paved roads and woodcutters'
trails crisscross the woods, marking the safest
routes, and linking the small settlements and
isolated camps where people live. Strange lights
and stranger experiences await anyone who
ventures too deeply into the woods. Potent
herbs, talking animals, and rumors of a powerful
wish­granting being named the Green Regent all
beckon travelers in despite the risks.

The nature of the Woods' magic is ambiguous
(pick one or more):

* The woods are being taken over by a dark force, or such a thing already rules part of it (what next?)
* Magic is mostly confined to the woods, rather than spilling out into the wider world (is that good or bad?)
* There's a conflict between ancient fairy magic and modern human magic (how does it affect the PCs?)

## Adventure Locations

These are places where witches might go to
adventure. Magic, and danger, will be more
overt in such locations.

## The Ruins

Beyond the woods, there's a large cleared area.
Ancient ruins lie here, overgrown with vines.
Some say it's haunted, others say it's cursed.
These ruins are part of the secret history of
magic. Cobblespire's teachers and
Broombridge's parents caution witch children
not to visit the ruins, yet every year, a few of
them do.

## The Caves

There's a cave entrance near Broombridge, at the
edge of the forest. The cave mouth is lined with
runes that glow strangely in moonlight, and a
breeze from inside sounds like a softly sighing
voice if you listen for long enough. Young
witches tell each other stories about the ancient
underground kingdom the caves are supposed to
lead to, but whether elves, gnomes, or cthonic
enigmas live there is something no two stories
can agree upon.

## The Cemetery

Broombridge is an old town, and its cemetery is
equally old. The town's famous families have
mausoleums scattered through the ground. The
shades of witches past might lurk here, if such
things are truly real. Even if not, an important
family might have buried something important
in one of their vaults, and ancient records might
point the way to these forgotten relics.

## NPCs and Factions

Not every group of NPCs is a "faction". Factions
are groups of people that involve themselves
with the PCs' adventures, and have a good or bad
opinion of the coven. When you start playing,
you can decide which factions are part of your
game, and add more factions as the game
progresses.

Any faction can appear anywhere, but most have
one or two areas where they are usually found.

**Beastfolk** are intelligent talking animals, such
as birds or badgers, with a mixture of animal or
human qualities. A talking bird, or a family of
squirrels who live in a tiny log cabin, are both
Beastfolk. (City, Forest)

**Eccentrics** are teachers and staff who teach
more obscure or difficult magical skills. They are
sometimes old, often weird, and knowledgeable ­
but getting anything useful out of them can be
challenging. (School)

**Fairies** are mysterious creatures of magic, that
reward witches who protect them, or play pranks
on careless children. (City, Forest)

**Pedagogues** are scowling, disapproving
teachers who have no tolerance for childish
antics, and expect good performance. They can
be impressed by solid magical performance,
however. (City, School)

**Preceptors** are the positive teachers who mean
well, but may not have much influence in larger
affairs. They can be counted on for unofficial aid,
but their quiet disappointment can sting. (City,
School)

**Puritans** are the conservative, cautious
townsfolk who fear or mistrust magic. They can
be persuaded by witches' positive actions, or
harass them for any misstep. (City)

**Skeptics** are people who don't understand the
power of magic, prefer a mundane life, or (in
games where magic is receding from the world)
don't believe it exists. (City)

**Woodcutters** are the taciturn people of the
deep woods, who know the secret paths and
ways of nature. They can seem scary to novice
witches, but they may aid a coven that has done
the forest a favor in the past. (City)