Simply amazing. I was following the author on Twitter (back before it hit the Xitter), and was generally pretty hyped for it. I bought it thinking it'd be a new class, and a little extra interesting content.

JFC no. It's a whole-ass class, with multiple sub-classes, lore, rules, alt rules, spells, and general creepyness! I recommend it to everyone when I find out that they are the least bit interested in D&D.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2020/10/5e-witch-project-hidden-oddities-witchs.html

Hidden Oddities, A Witch’s Primer by Eva M. Brown

Hidden Oddities is a monster of a book. At 154 pages for a single class it has my attention. Also at 154 pages, no point in figuring out how much is content vs. title, ogl and the like. It is a beast of a book.

This book rivals any other published book for the D&D 5 game or any other game. The layout is great, with crisp easy to read text. The artwork is fantastic. And the authors know their OGL. I should really just say "Author". While it looks like Eva M. Brown surrounded herself with a great team to work on this, it is obvious from the reading that this is a single voice and author vision.

Up first is a Foreword and it becomes obvious that this book is just more than a witch class. There is a bit of world-building going on as well. This can only be a good thing in my mind. There are Seven Chapters in this book.

Chapter 1 covers the Introduction, what this book is about and the list of Kickstarter backers.

Chapter 2 is the Witch Class. There are little quotes and “magical text” all throughout the book that really gives it a nice feel. Break the code of the magical text for more information!

And in a bit of “magic text” of my own, “yes Eva, I do think we will be great friends!”

We start off in a place I think it great. Background. There are also d6 tables of “I Became A Witch Because…”, a d6 table of “We Whisper to Each Other By…”, “Our Relationship Is…” and “My Curios Are…” This is great stuff and perfect not just for EVERY D&D5/DMsGuild Witch I have reviewed but nearly every witch I can think of (and that is a lot is I can be so bold).

An aside. Curios are a great idea. I love them. I wish I had come up with them first. The witch is a full 20 levels spellcaster. She can’t use armor and has 1d6 HD.

Instead of getting spell slots the witch gets curios, which are tiny mundane object that can store spells. The witch records her spells in her spell book but uses that knowledge to charge her curios. The witch gains two spells per level (four at level 1) of any spell level she can cast, half her own level rounded up. This means the witch can know up to 42 spells. She can only cast the number of spells as she has curios.

The witch also gains an otherworldly companion. These are roughly the same as Familiars, but can be more than just animals. The witch’s other worldly companion teaches the witch, Witch Script. It is invisible to all non-witches save for when detect magic is cast on it.

The Witch Archetypes are known as Sacred Secrets. There are also some powers known as Arcane Wonders.

Between these, the different types of otherworldly companions and the various types of Curios, there should be an unlimited variety of witches one can create with this book.

Chapter 3 covers the Sacred Secrets. Each one has their own background, Arcane Wonders and other powers. Again, these are treated like subclasses, Traditions, or Covens in other books. There are 14 of these and are all quite details have a lot of great potential.

Chapter 4 (mis-labeled Chapter 3 in text) are Additional Options. This is a great chapter and one often forgotten about by other authors of Witch classes (including myself on occasion) and that is other archetypes for other classes. There is a new Druid Circle, a Fighter Archetype, A Paladin Oath, a Ranger Archetype, and a Wizard Tradition. There are also new backgrounds, complete with personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws, for any class.

This chapter also has a number of new feats and some new equipment.

Chapter 5 gives us Spells. Here there are 111 new spells. Overtly for witches they can be used by other classes as well. Some of these spells share the same or similar names with spells I have written, enough to make me do a double take. But it is obvious from reading them that these are not used OGC, merely the result of both Eva Brown and myself reading a lot of the same source materials. Which in a way is really cool.

Chapter 6 Lore is our world-building chapter. Here we get some organizations the could belong too, or are against the witches. Even if you only use them as ideas or seeds there is a lot here to add to any game. Membership, leaders (some detailed), goals and headquarters are all detailed. Nine such organizations are detailed here.

The Appendices cover how to choose a companion, what equipment you might need and the roles of the witch.

Additionally, there is art information and a Witch’s Script translation guide. OGL and a four-page Character sheet.

While this might not be my favorite 5e Witch class, it is my favorite 5e Witch book. There is just so much here that is great and really grabs my imagination.

I mentioned before that the art is great, but it really needs to be re-said. This is a great book.

You can also get the Character Sheet for PWYW. It works nicely with other witch classes as well.

A high quality PDF with an amazing amount of content and fantastic production value. I would go as far as to say this is clearly the best 3rd party content for 5e.

I have had generally low expectations of third party content. This book has redefined those expectations. It is brilliant in idea, and in execution. Professionally conceived and written, and wonderfully illustrated.

The concept of the Witch - an original class idea, not just a re-skinned class - is great. It feels alive and complete and unique. I couldn't wait to introduce it to my game, first with an NPC to inspire (the players LOVED the woman with her spellbook written on her skin), then to players as the craft becomes available for teaching.

The craft put into the book itself is excellent. It's well-laid out, clear, well-indexed (had to adjust a few manually in the PDF version, but easy enough to do).

And finally, I don't often go for POD, but the POD product is solid, too. Good binding, good cover, no running ink, no cut off words hidden in the binding.

Eva Brown, Whatever your next product is, I'm in.

This is an incredible resource and honestly one of the most thorough additions to my DnD library. I feel like I have barely scratched the surface as the class has so much depth, so many options for role play. I primarily DM and I am excited to incorporate NPCs built from this.

This is going to get a ton of use from me. The character and story ideas, as well as coven world building in this is top notch. It is WELL worth the money.

I've followed Eva for a little while now and have thoroughly enjoyed all of the content she has released thus far. The Witch's Primer is no different; I was completely blown away by the amount of care, creativity, artistry, and time put into each aspect of the resource.

I was initially concerned that the sheer breadth of the document was indicative of a focus of quantity over quality, but after finishing reading through the many archetypes, spells, and curios introduced throughout Hidden Oddities, I'm very happy to say that I was mistaken. There's a nice balance between generally useful and powerful yet niche curios available for a witch, and with the right choice of archetype and curio, a witch can fulfill roles normally held by only a small collection of classes. Despite this, however, the class still manages to retain a distinctly witch-y feel regardless of the subclass or curio set you pick. My personal favorite subclasses are those based on hag creatures (such as the Secrets of Frost and Secrets of the Feast subclasses) as they all feel delightfully playful despite their seemingly narrow range of effectiveness.

While I am immensely pleased by the majority of the content in the primer, I do feel that it's a bit dense to have all been in a single document. Hidden Oddities is roughly 150 pages in length, and many of the pages are filled from top to bottom with text surrounding a single item, subclass, or feature, especially concerning the large tables dedicated to the fortune-telling subclass. While I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing (and I would have been immensely saddened to miss out on any of the wonderful writing and artwork included in the primer), it does make the resource pretty difficult to interest friends in due to how much of an undertaking it is to read through. What a pleasant read it is, though!

Pick up Hidden Oddities if you enjoy maximum customizability for your characters and crave a unique and, until now, sorely overlooked flavor of spellcaster in 5e: the subtle, otherworldly, and immensely diverse weaver of arcane that is the witch.

Amazing supplement that is worth the price of admission. Even though I spend almost all of my time DMing, this is worth it just for the sheer number of ideas it generates that you can put right into your game.

• it does a better job of fleshing out class options than the PHB does for core classes
• Witches are distinct, with entirely new mechanics based around party cooperation, like coven spellcasting and shared dice rolls
• they're VERSATILE. You can build a witch to fulfill almost any role you like in a unique way
• a RIDICULOUS amount of subclasses and archetypes, each unique and some with entirely new mechanics, like fortune telling and tarot reading
• BEAUTIFUL art and design work throughout
• extensive advice in the appendix for building to fit certain party roles, which is something that should be in the PHB (space permitting)
• the spells are GREAT. Distinct, flavourful, and full of ideas for both players and DMs
• developed factions and NPCs you can drop right into a game

It's awesome. Not everything is "perfectly balanced" (whatever that means), as some subclasses seem much better than others, but with the wealth of options here I don't know how you would avoid that or if it's even a problem.

I chewed through the entire PDF in a day. No regrets.

I had the opportunity to review this product while it was in development and I can tell you after reading every word in the document at least twice: "This is a stellar product!"

This product easily rates 5 stars. Eva and her team deserve every one of them.

Hidden Oddities is everything a TTRPG supplement should and can be. It is thourough, presenting not only a new class (and mechanics) but new sub-classes and spells (oh so many spells) for existing classes, as well as new lore to use as needed in your roleplaying games and a quick 'how-to' section explaining possible aproaches to the new and unique items introduced here.

The Witch is an intricate class that despite initial appearances, is not complex. They do require you to be mindful about your choices but the dividends pay off for a clever player. The multitude of options (14 Secrets) numerous Curio Manifestations (with varying levels within these) means no Witch will be the same. It feels like endless customization capability.

101 new spells, some in part designed by others but all lovingly crafted and shaped by Eva into a coherent (and oddly disturbing) worldview. I have found some new favorite spells here and I greatly appreciate the concept that spellcasting has a cost and the question of whether sometimes it is too high?

The artwork is of the highest caliber and cements the Witch's askew vision of the world into the readers mind.

Do yourself a favor and buy this book for yourself or for your gaming table. It is a resouce that shines with the love and effort the creators poured into it.