Looking for a list of all the possible "signs" of a person who is a witch/sorcerer/touched by the gods/etc from any & all myths & cultures.Just from the outset though, I don't care about witches teets, hermaphrodites, or any weird sex stuff, im keeping it somewhat PG because high schoolers are in the group & i dont need any overly concerned mothers making my life worse. Looking to spice up a game so magic users have obvious and weird signs advertising their power
>>92517049I will just grab some stuff from rifts for you OP this one is the russia specific witchNotable Vulnerabilities of the Night Witch• The light of day is unwelcomed and unpleasant (prefers thenight, shadows and cloudy days).• Magical fire and M.D. plasma do double damage.• Rainwater collected during the first thunderclap of a stormburns like acid, inflicting 4D6 M.D. per level of experience.Holy Water is bitter and stings the flesh, but does no damage.• The Night Witch has no special saves vs magic of any kind,not even charms and talismans work for them, they are vul-nerable to magic.• Insanity. Roll for one phobia at level two, roll for one obses-sion at level four and roll for one random insanity at levelsix.• Lastly, they are vulnerable to their own greed, lust andvengeful nature. This means the Night Witch finds it difficultto resist extracting revenge or trying to get something orsomebody they want, and causes them to overplay their hand,stand and fight when they should retreat, and to take foolishchances. Their lust for wealth, valuables, and power, as wellas lust for revenge, can also be used to lure them out in theopen and into ambushes and traps. However, the cunning andruthless Night Witch is no stranger to deception and guile,and will anticipate treachery and unleash her full poweragainst those fools who dare to challenge her. In addition,should the witch triumph or escape, she will not forget or for-give their attack and plot her retribution (makes for a greatrecurring villain).
>>92517156I'm looking for stuff like, covered in boils, iron teeth, cat eyes, etc
>>92517214ahhin that regard Rifts only offers the third nipple option(to feed their familar blood) but that goes against your request.beyond specific weaknesses that can be used to expose them if they are hiding.Physical manifestation of powers granted like claws superhuman physiques, moving hair, blood that is some element like fire.For general appearance stuff there is a table for tieflings aasimar and the like floating around but here are a few I remember/likeweird eyes: All one color, abnormal colors, patterns in the iris, animal eyesweird hair/skin colors and textures coal black skin or hair that shines like silverFeatures of their "patron": wings, halo, horns, animal bits, scales anything that is shared with the thing that grants their powerAnimals either really like them or really hate themAtypical limbs or symmetry: on arm is that of a dragon or half of their body looks burnedAny stuff that thematically links the character to the thing that grants them their power
>>92517214WFRP 2e has some of these. Dark magic users tend to have ones that are quite unpleasant. Regular wizards have a few examples given in Career Compendium and elsewhere. I don't have the books in front of me or I'd be more specific. You might consider some less extreme but still noticeable ones like having a reflection that isn't mirrored, having a shadow that faces the wrong way, lacking finger or toenails, I dunno.
>>92517049I was always a fan of the second iris in one of the eyes in demonic possession moviesOne of those things that can be super subtle but also a pretty cool reveal
>>92517049Skinwalkers having eyes that shine in the dark like an animal's, even in their human form.
>>92517330Second iris? Can you post an example?
>>92517156
>>92517599NTA, but I'm assuming they're referring to the tapetum lucidum. Humans do not have that but other animals, like cats, do.
I've spent some time searching for a low-intensity mutation table like what you want but it's surprisingly hard. All of the ones I've found go straight for the tentacle arms and what have you, there's no room for subtle shit.
>>92517049Just research images of people with strange boils and tumors from the third world
>>92517780That's why I'm asking lol. Fuck me it's even hard to Google this shit anymore. I asked Google for Witch signs & i got "top ten signs your a powerful witch" from some fat Wiccan bitchs blog or some shit. I remember being in middle school & finding serious occult & mythical stuff, now it's all worthless bullshit
Magicians are able to mantle animal spirits and become more like those animals. Powerful magicians will physically transform into those animals and leave their skins like spare coats in their homes. Magicians know secret lore without having to be told. Magicians are drawn to other magicians, whether knowingly or unknowingly, and will probe them for magical lore. This is how child magicians are uncovered. If they are not given a righteous master, they will find an evil one where their progress cannot be seen.
>>92518312If your nuns start meowing at each other, that's not a bride of god, that's a witch.
Mages/witches/shaman/etc. will <insert symptom of OCD, ADHD, autism, or schizo* disorders here>
>>92517599Fuck this was the closest I could find, and I wish I could remember what movie did it best cause it's been in a few thingsBut basically pic related, the possessed person started acting strange and then their eyes rolled back into their head and one of them had a different colored pupil
>>92518782Forgot pic fuck
>>92518790Ah. I like when the iris splits like a cell doing mitosis.
>>92518329They're just singing Rossini
>>92517049In Africa witches are often unaware that they are witches. They can cast curses on people by harboring ill-intent on them. So when someone believes they are under a curse, the town stops and gets together and figures out who might be the Witch. Now- these Witch-Hunts are pretty civil-affairs, mostly just figuring out who might hate the guy enough to cast a curse without even realizing it. Once the Witch has been determined the village asks them to lift the curse by getting over their grudge. If they do, then everything is solved and everyone goes home. If the Witch refuse, then he or she is exiled from the village. By the way, this practice is continued in the modern era. Some south-asian societies have a pretty similar view on things, but the view is more that negative emotions like inherently poison the air (think like accruing bad karma), so when two people in a tribe have a beef, the whole village sits down until the beef is resolved. The goal is not to seek justice, but to make the two parties involved to stop holding onto their beef.
>>92524735Cool, very interesting but... why bring it up? Do Africans have any spooky shamans or witches with bizarre physical traits?
>>92525930OP asked for lore about witchcraft from any culture, and that's some witchcraft lore I thought OP would find interesting? Anyway I don't think there are any physical marks, like I said the sign is someone in the area is under a curse. Witchcraft over there isn't something like a genetic condition (just like it's not in Europe), it's something where a Witch could be completely unaware they are a Witch or that the cursed someone.
Maybe you could look up reasons why women were burned at the stake during the witch hunts. There should be a few physical traits mentioned.Only one I remember is a "Hexensträhne", German for witch's streak, which is when a person has a spot on their head where their hair is a different colour, usually white. Like Jaina from WoW has.
>>92527000Hanging was inconsistent. There's a case of one woman who was hung and woke up on the way to the graveyard two hours later. Since she'd already 'served her sentence' they let her go (they figured God must have intervened or something). Now there is a bit of lore regarding how to burn someone at the stake. Use wet wood and tinder to create a lot of smoke that hopefully makes the person pass out from lack of oxygen before they are set on fire. That way they die without feeling pain (in theory). Use dry wood if you want them to feel themselves burned to death.
>>92517049Being the seventh son of a seventh son is believed to bestow magic and prophesy powers in British folklore.
>>92527075>>92525972>>92527045Derr herr OP asked for a list of physical traits, lets instead digress into talking about dumb shit instead
>>92529471Where do you think you are?
>>92532206Bitch city population (you)
>>92517049Recently read a lot about upirs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upi%C3%B3r), which are more like witches than vampires actually. In slav folklore one of the surest sign that someone is born with supernatural abilites is to be born with their birth caul on their head. That's the main thing to recognize a vjesci (kind of cross between living vampire and witch). A person bound to become an upir/striga/vampire after death is born with teeth.Other unusual signs to recognize upirs are: lack of armpit hair, two sets of teeth, extremely ruddy complexion. Could be easily adapted for witches.
>>92539792Double teeth, now THATS something cool
>>92517049Off the top of my head>Abnormal strength. Like strong as three men despite being a 98 lbs hag.>A third nipple on the chest or arm. Their famliars or slaves will drink from this nipple.>Constantly followed by an animal that looks mangy or diseases. It's their familiar and link to the demon they made a pact with.>Their breast milk is cold and tastes bitter>Multiple breasts> They have a very cold body temperature, especially their genitals>Sudden, rapid pregnancies resulting in the births of deformed creatures, sometimes humans.>If the demon is particularly strong they will grow and eye or mouth on the front or back of a hand. These can speak or see for the demon.Witches be nasty
>>92544225This is a mashup of rift and palladium fantasy but it shows up In other media which was where they probably lifted it.Some things it goes on about>Witches aren't automatically ugly. Some are bestowed with beauty through their pact. >Witches are likely influenced in their fashion and personal hygiene in that they are absolute evil and psychotic.>They don't need anything. They don't need to eat or drink or have any companionship. The magic power their pactmaster sustains them.So in this way palladium portrays them as crazy bag ladies. They have spent months in the woods sleeping on the ground and look like it because they don't feel any need to be clean, warm, or care.
>>92517049The "Devil's Mark," an abnormal birthmark somewhere. Bonus points if it's shaped like a symbol and somewhere prominent like the neck.Some evil witches have been depicted as being excessively hairy, connecting them to the hairy legs of the ancient Middle Eastern Lilitu.Shapeshifting witches have been described as having facial features reminiscent of the animal they change into.Excessively long fingers, or an extra finger.Heterochromia (different coloured eyes)
>>92517049Tattoos.
>>92517780>I've spent some time searching for a low-intensity mutation table like what you want but it's surprisingly hard. All of the ones I've found go straight for the tentacle arms and what have you, there's no room for subtle shit.Look up the Dark Powers Corruption table(s?) for AD&D Ravenloft.
>>92551463Already looked at it, it was pretty good.
>>92517049How many nipples have they got?
>>92529471Don't be rude, OP asked for a list of all the possible signs of a person who is a witch/sorcerer, no weird sex stuff. Seventh son of a seventh son is literally the first thing I thought of too.
>>925270757th son....https://nypost.com/2024/04/15/lifestyle/why-gay-men-often-have-older-brothers-fraternal-birth-order-effect-explained/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nypost>>Known since the 1990s as the fraternal birth order effect, it has been theorized that men have roughly a 33% increased probability of being attracted to men for every older brother they haveFlamming Gay/Non-binary is not good at God eyes in less sophisticated cultures.Kek.
>>92517049 What do witches represent in your world? If they are something like mischievous forest spirits, then having wood ir rocks sprout out of them, mushrooms or insects eating a piece of rotten flesh she has to hide while interacting with people could work.
>>92518790diplopia is the condition, in case you wanted to know. only a few recorded cases in human history
