RPG Review: Wise Women by Aleksandra Brokman

 

This is a game about witches living in a remote village deep in the forests of Eastern Europe. The folk are rugged and wary, for beyond the trees lie the mysteries, wonders and perils of nature and the supernatural.  Everyone has a place in the community, though some live a more precarious existence than others- particularly the wise women who know the secrets of herbcraft. These women work together as covens (the PC party) to protect their community and each other.

To quote the author, Wise Women is “not a story of heroines growing in abilities but of people caught in difficult circumstances, who have to try to deal with them while being who they are, using the means and skills currently available.”  This is a game of low magic and non-combat, focused on social interactions. The cove plays a vital role in their village, and the women are often sought out by people in need, but open magic is viewed with suspicion and fear even by those who may need it.

While “women” may be in the title, Brokman acknowledges that people of many different marginalized genders can be witches- cis, trans, nonbinary, genderfluid, and others. The key is playing a character whose identity does not quite fit into the constraints of their community’s social structure.

The player builds their character around six stats:

1.)    Hearth: knowledge of the community and the surrounding wilderness.

2.)    Influence: ability to communicate with other villagers- i.e. how well one can get what one needs in the community.

3.)    Vigour: how fit the witch is physically and mentally.

4.)    Wit: How well the witch can read people, and how sneaky she can be when she needs to.

5.)    Light magic: magic that heals, or at least doesn’t harm others

6.)    Dark magic: magic that harms.

Each character has social standing in the community that changes depending on their actions. Additionally, each Player Character begins the game with three ties in the community, one of which is to another witch.

Magic in Wise Women is done by utilizing the effects of plants that the witch gathers. For equipment each witch begins with three plants. They will gather new plants throughout the game as old ones are used, so the effects available to a player will constantly change.

There is danger from supernatural creatures and suspicious villagers, but as stated before this is not a combat-oriented game and fighting is very simple. Most supernatural creatures are too powerful to be killed by mortals, anyway, and it is far more effective to placate them, or at least temporarily drive them off. There are also no experience points. Characters can grow or fall in social standing, but their main stats remain the same.

Brokman has written two supplements to the game, a bestiary and a guide to festivals and customs. Both are rooted in Polish folklore, with some ingredients form other Eastern European cultures. Supernatural entities include such familiar beings as vampires (strzyga) and werewolves (wilkolak), along with stranger beings like the Gniotek, which looks like a small boy in a red hat, but which is heavier than a full grown man and likes to sit on victim’s chests while they are sleeping; or Zlydnia, small hairy house-dwelling spirits that personify misfortune.  

The festival supplement features real world holidays that are often a mixture of Christian and pagan Slavic practices such as Jare Gody (pronounced Yah-reh Goh-dyi), a multi-day celebration of the coming spring and banishment of winter, and Dziady (Dzha-dyi), a time when the souls of the dead return to Earth to visit their families.

For players interested in a game of quieter magic and social interaction, you can get a PDF copy of Wise Women on Itch.io  or DriveThruRPG.