Witch Doctor Image

While most people are unaware of it, you know there is a hidden world alongside our own, populated by spirits both helpful and malevolent. Though trained as a healer, you also possess the Gift, allowing you to witness the relationship between our world and the world of the spirits. Through observation and study you have developed an understanding of the spirit world and have learned to manipulate its influence. Whether or not you can actually use magic in the game is based on your character class, but you are convinced that the spirits are all around you. You know the proper ways to entice them to protect you from harm, help your friends, hinder your foes or leave you in peace.

 
Skill Proficiencies: Medicine, and your choice of Deception or Persuasion
Tool Proficiencies: Herbalism Kit, Poisoner's Kit
Equipment: An herbalism kit, a set of worn common clothes, a dagger, a strange hat (or headdress), a talisman (such as a preserved chicken's foot or a small crystal), a divination tool (such as a deck of Tarokka cards or a collection of bones), and a belt pouch containing 10 gp.
 
The Gift

Early in your life you became aware of the spirit world. Roll to determine how you discovered the Gift, or choose from one of the options below.

d6 The Gift
1 Family Lineage - the Gift runs in my bloodline (the seventh child of a seventh child, my red hair, my great-grandmother was half-fey).
2 Mentor - I was selected and trained by a village elder, after an omen or sign (a flock of birds descended on me, winter relented when I was born, I was found on his/her doorstep).
3 Traumatic Event - I discovered that I had the Gift after recovering from a near death experience (poisoned by a venomous bite, nearly drowned, seriously burned in a fire, struck by lightning).
4 Epiphany - I always knew there were hidden mysteries, and after much meditation and inner searching I finally learned how to unlock my Gift.
5 Visitation - My eyes were opened when I was visited by an extraplanar being (fey, fiend, celestial).
6 Occult Society - When I was barely an adult I was approached by a mysterious figure who told me I had the Gift. He and his followers took me in and taught me what it was and how to use it.
 
Feature: Read the Signs

By interpreting the spirit activity around you, or by consulting your tools of divination, you can gain guidance from the spirit world. This can take the form of insight into the personality or motivation of an NPC, a premonition of a possible future, or perhaps even and awareness of the spiritual or supernatural disposition of your location.  Whatever the result, it will be difficult to interpret and often seemingly random. Using this feature involves a lengthy ritual (at least ten minutes), but it is not strenuous, and could be combined with a short or long rest.

 
Suggested Characteristics

 A witch doctor could be a tribal elder, a folk healer or a lunatic practitioner of forbidden arts. More than likely this witch doctor comes from a rural (or even primitive) community whose inhabitants are superstitious and not well informed about the true nature of magic. 

Instead, this character might be an ambitious seeker, a driven occultist, or a superstitious academic. Possibly from a cultured society, this character has been shaped by trauma, paranoia, indoctrination, or just the natural desire to control his or her fate. 

Whatever the case, a witch doctor is defined by an unconventional view of the world, and the burden the Gift becomes when others do not understand or believe.

d8 Personality Trait
1 I talk to objects and animals as if they are intelligent … and sometimes they answer me, even if I am the only one who can hear them.
2 I perform several small rituals in response to commonplace occurrences. (Examples: Turning in circles, saying phrases three times, throwing pinches of salt, etc.)
3 I speak as little as possible, for I know that my voice carries much power.
4 I answer questions with questions.
5 I constantly interpret the omens and signs I see for the benefit of those around me.
6 I see every event as an intrusion by the spirit world, and seek to address any problems by first considering what will calm the spirits.
7 The material possessions that I prize are sometimes macabre or grotesque, and almost never things that others consider valuable.
8 Proverb and metaphor obscure my speech whenever possible.
d6 Ideal
1 Responsibility: Not everyone has the Gift, so its power should be used on behalf of those who cannot see. (Good)
2 Order: Ignoring the effects of the spirit world invites disaster. Traditions must be upheld to maintain the balance and protect the living. (Lawful)
3 Adaptation: The spirits are willful and unpredictable. We must be ready to appease them, whatever they ask. (Chaotic)
4 Authority: The spirit world is a source of great power, and my Gift is proof that I deserve to rule. (Evil)
5 Wisdom: Understanding the world of the spirits is the only path to safety, prosperity, and power. (Neutral)
6 Discovery: The Gift offers an avenue of exploration that few can achieve. I take joy in using the power for the sake of mystery and wonder. (Any)
d6 Bond
1 I have an ancestor whose spirit cannot rest until I find a way to release them.
2 I was banished from a town because the people blamed me for a natural disaster or other unpredictable event.
3 I carry a totem or talisman that I believe I need to use my Gift. (A piece of an animal, a crystal, a rock, a bell, etc.)
4 I observe a taboo that disallows me from doing certain things. (Examples: I never cut my hair, I wash every day, I do not bathe at all, I eat only vegetables, I paint my face.)
5 I have an enemy that I am always vigilant against. (Example: A rival practitioner, an evil spirit, or someone who believes I cursed them.)
6 It is my duty to pass on what I have learned, so I am always looking out for others to mentor.
d6 Flaw
1 I do things that others consider dangerous or irrational, because I trust that the spirits will protect me until it is my time to die.
2 I get frustrated and angry when others ignore the things I know are important.
3 I am terrified of something commonplace. (Examples: my reflection, certain animals, or pairs of animals, crossroads, left-handed people, running water.)
4 I seldom take the advice of others, since they cannot see what I see.
5 I go where I think I should, and sometimes I don't tell anyone when I leave.
6 I have been declared a heretic by a local religious organization.
 
Variant Witch Doctor: Witch Doctor Pretender

Maybe you are a swindler who has crafted a good con, an imposter who found a way to get attention, or maybe your upbringing was just someone else's mistake. Whatever the case, you know that you don't have the "Gift" and perhaps you don't even believe such a thing is possible.

Despite that, you've learned some valuable skills and you are still talking the talk. You are doing what you can to get by, even though it's driven you a bit mad. 

If you wish to be a pretender, choose the It's a Living feature (see sidebar) instead of the Read the Signs feature.

 
Variant Feature: It's a Living

Due to your knowledge of medicine and your skill with herbs and poisons, you can maintain a modest lifestyle in most communities without having to pay 1 gp per day. However, the threat of discovery is always lurking, and the possibility of banishment or worse is never far away.

 
justerik76
Witch Doctor Image

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