Orc Shaman Q&a

[Blawharag 277]

Witchdoctors utilize the spirits in a chaotic fashion. They operate by channeling the raw will of the spirits, with minimal shaping. Witchdoctors are unique in that they don't necessarily align with a single spirit type, rather with the general ritualistic fashion of channeling any given spirit in general. Through their rituals they can channel blessings, hexes, or even create magical potions by channeling the spirit's raw will. The only problem is, being that they are channeling the raw will, they have minimal control over the outcome of the spells. A blessing will always be a blessing, a hex always a hex, but in the case of most Witchdoctor's, that blessing could literally be anything. It could be powerful and improve the target's strength, or it could be something relatively useless, like a Hex that causes someone to sneeze periodically for a day or two. It all depends on which given spirit ended up chiming in, and what they decided was the best course of action for the particular subject. Since there are so many different spirits and each with their own opinion on the matter at hand, it is next to impossible to predict what the outcome will be. Magical potion making is usually the most effective route.

 

The first thing a Witchdoctor learns in regards to potion making is how to identify what potion he just made. He channels the raw will of the spirits into his concoction and the result is similar to blessing or hexing someone, only the effect is literally bottled up. The witchdoctor can, in this way, concoct an assortment of remedies, maladies, and general hosh-posh and carry them around to use as he/she sees fit. Less experienced Witchdoctors cannot even control whether their potions will be beneficial or harmful, but as they grow in experience they learn how to influence the "raw" spiritual will in bits and pieces. Different components can sometimes attract certain spirits over others and make the results more likely to reflect what the Witchdoctor desires. This is not, however, an exact science and increasing the probability of certain outcomes does not guarantee them.

 

As for straight blessing and hexing, the Witchdoctor can also influence these outcomes more and more as he grows in experience. Utilizing implements such as voodoo dolls, the witchdoctor might pin-point target location's in someone's body to hex or bless. For instance, a Witchdoctor could use a voodoo doll to bless an Orc's broken arm, which might lessen pain, hasten healing, fix it out right, or do something less useful, like turn the stench of rotting flesh into the smell of daisies (which, incidently, would be about as pleasant to an Orc as the stench of rotting flesh).

[Merkaken 516]

-snippity snip snipped and edited-

 

So, i'm thinking of becoming a Witch Doctor... When, roughly saying, will I be able to start my training/self teaching or whatever? Are there plans for this (training) in the near future? 

 

So, say I become a Witch Doctor... Say i'm out and about, doing my Witch Doctor thing, and I come upon an Orc who's been wounded. Now, say i'm still just an apprentice, and the Orc asks for my blessing... Here's my questions:

 

1. How do I roleplay giving said Orc this blessing? As stated before, I know I won't have complete control over it, but how do I know what to do?

2. What materials would be needed? Is it just sort of up to me, or is there a set list of all Witch Doctor spells and stuff?

[Blawharag 277]

I spoke towards this in my response to your PM, but I'll repeat it here for everyone's benefit:

 

Magic Users will not be able to cast effective magic until they have reached at least tier 1, everything prior to tier 1 is you still learning, and towards the later stages of your learning you might be able to "cast some magic" but it will all be useless or worse (imagine the mage apprentice that attempts to cast a fireball in the late stages of his learning, but before he has reached tier 1. Instead of a fireball, he ignites himself.)

 

Now, as for your roleplay, it entirely depends on your character. Your character will not be able to actually bless him until he has reached at least tier 1, at which point you will know exactly how to RP out this situation, so I've no need to describe that process here. The rest you will learn through your teachings, I have no need to describe here when you can begin attempting (and failing) to cast magic prior to tier 1 or any of those details, because you will learn all this in your learning from your teacher (in Gaash's case, me).