Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

I had a bit of a rough Sunday this weekend, so I decided to distract myself from Real Life a bit with some work on my Witcher Burning Wheel hack that I've been tinkering with.  I posted the lifepaths and traits that I shared previously on the BW forums and got some excellent feedback on those from a couple of people, including some amazing advice from Thor for tweaks, so I'll be reworking those.

One of the big things that Thor pointed out is that the elven spell songs probably were a better model for the signs than using the Art Magic rules that I had initially intended to go with.  This solved one of my big concerns I had with having witchers use the Sorcery skill when there would be actual witches using the regular Sorcery rules in the game, which is something the Codex specifically calls out as an issue.  By making the signs themselves individual skills based off the elven spell songs, it eliminates the conflicting magic rules while still achieving the same effects.

That still leaves the issue of creating the new sign skills, though, so I've take a stab at that below!  These function mechanically as the elven spell songs more or less, being open-ended rolls but not requiring the Gifted trait.  Instead, the use of these skills requires the Witcher trait I shared before.  The other chief difference obviously is that use of these skills doesn't require sustained singing as the elven spell songs do in order to use to make them a bit closer to the magic used in-game.  Each of the signs is its own individual skill, it should be noted.


Quen  -- Ob 4^ -- 11 Actions
The witcher surrounds himself with a magical shield, absorbing damage from enemy blows. Functions as the existing Turn Aside the Blade spell.

Yrden -- Ob 4^ -- 2 Actions
The witcher casts a circle of magical fire on the ground, trapping supernatural foes caught within it. The caster chooses a single supernatural target to make a Steel test.  Hesitation is increased by the margin of success.

Igni -- See Description -- 2 Actions
A burst of flame erupts from the hand of the witcher, setting torches or foes ablaze in its path.  Functions as either the existing Flame Finger or Fire Fan spells as applicable to the intent.

Aard - Ob Speed -- 1 Action
The witcher assails his foes with a telekinetic blast.  Targets in the path are knocked prone.  Weapon length: as spear; Range: as pistol.

Axii -- Ob 3 -- 2 Actions
The witcher influences the mind of a target, forcing them to speak honestly or stunning them into inaction.  Targets must make a Steel test, and must speak honestly for a number of actions equal to the result.


Please take a look and let me know your thoughts, especially any changes you think might need to be made,  Are they too powerful?  Are they not powerful enough?  Let me know!  Once I get enough feedback, I'll work on putting together a post with the revised lifepaths, traits, and signs in a single post as an easy reference for anybody to use in their games.  At some point in the future, I might even take a stab at putting together some folklore monsters and Wild Hunt NPCs for those that want them, but that's a hill I'm not quite ready to climb just yet.