Full Disclosure: I recieved a complimentary copy of this product for review purposes.

While this product was released long before Eldritch Witchery, this product feels like a B/X version of the material presented in the previously mentioned supplement. That doesn't make it a bad supplement, though, by any stretch of the imagination. Having already read EW, I can see that Brannan's previous work also had similar sensibilities.

This is more than just a class book, it's really a campaign supplement that presents a single new class with multipule options, allowing an enterprising referee to pick and choose what aspects of the material they want to apply to their campaign. The level of detail and sense of grounding in real-world history gives the material a gravity and believability not often found in role-playing game supplements - especially fantasy gaming supplements. The Witch is fantasy that never gets serious, but nor too does it get pretentious or self-important.

In addition to a detailed, multi-dimensional class, The Witch also provides an extensive collection of monsters and magical items. This not only gives the sourcebook more usable content, but having these extras helps give the Witch class a stronger presence into an existing campaign world. By having hints of the witch through these devices and devils, the introduction of the witch to an existing campaign never feels like its falling out of the sky or being introduced out of the blue.

The Witch is one of the most extensive, detailed, and well written OSR supplements I've seen in a long, long time and I'd highly recommend it to B/X or retro-clone game. Even if you never use the class, the extras on top of that make it more than worth the price of admission.

The level of detail and options available are fantastic. We are using parts of this to create a new base Witch PC class. This has been one of the best supplements to our ongoing campaign of 30 plus years of playing D&D. TYVM!

A book full of option and ideas that give real life to the Witch as a character class with unusual respect to the historical sources

When I downloaded the PDF, I was expecting a fairly short book detailing how to run a witch in basic dungeons and dragons. What I got was a 120 page campaign book detailing how to adjust a typical fantasy world to incorporate the witch character class.

The Witch character class is a blend of magic-user and cleric with a number of additional elements that make it something that stands out in its own way. On top of the basic class features, Witches pick traditions (like wizard specialties or clerics’ deities) which focus their development through the levels, and can also choose to be a part of a coven.

There are 6 traditions available to the witch character:

Aquarians - readers of the celestial bodies Classical - pretty much the usual stereotypes Family - mother to daughter type witches Faerie - witches that consort with various fay beings Maleficia - those that deal with demons, devils and otherworldly beings Eclectic - those without a tradition and are picking it up as they go

Spells are of course a large aspect of witchcraft, and the 54 pages devoted to the topic are extensive. Everything from cantrips (0-level spells) to 8th level spells and rituals are covered, as well as a small section on witch spellcraft theory.

Covens give the witch access to a small group of NPCs who can assist with training, provide safety, information, backup, and additional help with ritual castings. This section of the book also goes over the various items traditional to witches, and their uses in-game.

Moving beyond the PC witch, there are also 21 new monsters offered, and numerous witch specific magic items and artifacts.

Overall I'm really impressed. I haven't yet read every word (I skipped a lot of the spells)but I can see just how much flavor adding the Witch class to a campaign will bring. If you have any interest in any of the stuff above, it's well worth your time (and money) to go and pick up a copy for yourself.

There are several things I look for in a character class supplement , and this guide easily meets these requirement 1-Does it add something I could not?
This book is extremely well researched. The author seems to have read every book on witchcraft and synthesized them into the game. This means that not only is there a good rich background, but it's engrossing enough to just read on its own.
2-Does the class add something unique to the game? When I used to to let a PC play a witch before , I tried to make it a combination of druid and magic users. This book not only adds a good set of talents and spells, but they are truly different. The Witch is neither a combat class nor a support class but a true utility class. She has a range of power that don't appear in the other classes. One point of praise here is that the spells she has tend to be "scenario" spells. This character is at her best in a campaign with a good non-combat /role playing element. The best example of this is the numerous spells to detect/control fertility and affect luck. A cleaver GM could really use this class to move things along. 3-Do I read it and get ideas for how to use the supplement? Yes, very much so. I find my self wanting to play this class somewhere. 4-Does it have a meta game role/campaign material? The inclusion of a Witch in a party could be used in a good number of ways to change the tone of an adventure. It would work well in city or village campaigns, and anything that requires subterfuge.

If I had one criticism, it's that I think there could have been a section to give examples of how to use this class in a party, just because I could think of a million ways doesn't mean everyone will.

TL;DR--This is a great supplement, fun as source material or to include. Worth it.