[RPG] Are drow considered to be witches

drowpathfinder-1ewitch

The Witch Hunter class by Super Genius Games highlights the question of what creatures are considered a witch:

So, who or what is a witch? First, it needs to be explicitly stated
that “witch” refers to creatures of all genders, not solely females.
Second, while a GM is always welcome to rule any given creature is a
witch, the rules for the witch hunter class assume that “witches”
include:

  • All hags (green hags, night hags, sea hags, and any other creature who counts as a hag for purposes of creating a hag’s coven).
  • Outsiders with the native subtype.
  • Humanoids and monstrous humanoids with innate spellcasting ability (not gained from a class) that allows them to cast spells of 1st level or higher.
  • Characters with one or more levels in a class (including prestige classes) with “witch” in the title.
  • Clerics with one of the following domains: charm, death, destruction, evil, madness or trickery (and any other domains associated with evil gods, as determined by the GM).
  • Sorcerer with one of the following bloodlines: aberrant, abyssal, fey, infernal, undead (and any other domain linked with evil creatures, as determined by the GM).
  • Wizards with the necromancy specialization.

Generally speaking, are drow considered witches?

Best Answer

Super Genius Games’ definition of “witch” states that witches include any of the following sorts of creatures:

  • All hags (green hags, night hags, sea hags, and any other creature who counts as a hag for purposes of creating a hag’s coven).

    Drow are not hags and do not count as hags for the purposes of joining hags’ covens. A drow could conceivably pick up such an ability, perhaps, but that would be unusual.

  • Outsiders with the native subtype.

    Drow are humanoids. Oddly enough, this would make a 20th-level drow monk into a witch, just as an example off the top of my head and one of the reasons I’m not wild about this product. But drow more generally, no.

  • Humanoids and monstrous humanoids with innate spellcasting ability (not gained from a class) that allows them to cast spells of 1st level or higher.

    (emphasis mine) Having spell-like abilities is not the same as having spellcasting ability, so drows’ spell-like abilities do not qualify them for this. This applies to creatures that say they cast spells as if they were some kind of spellcaster, for example, the lamia matriarch who “casts spells as a 6th-level sorcerer.”

  • Characters with one or more levels in a class (including prestige classes) with “witch” in the title.

    A drow is certainly welcome to take such a class, but this is not true of drow in general.

  • Clerics with one of the following domains: charm, death, destruction, evil, madness or trickery (and any other domains associated with evil gods, as determined by the GM).

    Again, a drow certainly can be such a cleric, but is not by default.

  • Sorcerer with one of the following bloodlines: aberrant, abyssal, fey, infernal, undead (and any other domain linked with evil creatures, as determined by the GM).

    Repeating myself again; drow sorcerer with the appropriate bloodline, yes; drow in general, no.

  • Wizards with the necromancy specialization.

    And one last time, not in general.

Super Genius Games does not list any other kinds of creatures as generally being witches, so no, drow are not inherently witches for the purposes of the witch hunter class according to Super Genius Games.

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