Can You be a Dude Witch?

[Mick]

Can you?

I was thinking of getting this game?

[Coupon]

If you're good at imagination then sure
but no

[mehtarelingolien]

This game has a female protagonist.

You'll be okay.

[Mick]

Anyway, I brought the game. So, now, I know...

[Joe Coffee]

No Harold Porter. I don't trust male witches who enjoy broomsticks wedged in their gluteal cleft. (LOL).

Besides, there's a reason why the protag is a female would-be witch. I'm thinking she'll be the next Baba Yaga, and BY is always female.

[The Storyteller]

No, that would be a warlock.

No warlocks in this witch game.
Witch = woman.
Warlock = men.

This game is about a girl (XX chromosomes, human female.)
^^

[Mick]

Originally posted by The Storyteller:

No, that would be a warlock.

No warlocks in this witch game.
Witch = woman.
Warlock = men.

This game is about a girl (XX chromosomes, human female.)
^^

Traditionally I would agree with that, but have you ever played 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Table-top or Balder's Gate Three.

Males or females of any of the available racial types and species can be a Warlock and I believe Witch may be martial Archetype of Warlock or one of the other spell using class's.

I understand you may now flame me with words to the effect that D&D 5th edition isn't everything, but I will reply that it is something...

[Greywander]

Originally posted by The Storyteller:

No, that would be a warlock.

No warlocks in this witch game.
Witch = woman.
Warlock = men.

This game is about a girl (XX chromosomes, human female.)
^^

I think it depends somewhat on the specific culture you're talking about, but generally speaking I don't think this is historically accurate. "Witch" is not a gendered term, and male witches can exist. "Warlock" originally meant "oath-breaker", which could mean a variety of things. From my searches, it looks like two common interpretations of "warlock" include witches who betray their coven, and witches who place an emphasis on their split from Christianity (i.e. they either broke their oath to their coven, or broke their oath to God).

It's only more recently that "witch" has come to specifically refer to female practitioners, while "warlock" has lost its connotations as an oath-breaker and been adopted as a generic term for male witches. But this is still far from universal.

In fantasy, there's often a lot of interchangability when it comes to magic and the terms used. A specific type of magic might be referred to as sorcery in one setting, but wizardry in another (e.g. Harry Potter wizards would be sorcerers in D&D since their magic is innate/genetic). One setting might have male witches, another might call male witches by another name, and yet another might dictate that only women can practice witchcraft in the first place (e.g. there is no male equivalent).

It's hard to nail down anything as definitive if you're not talking about a specific real world mystical tradition, and most fiction wisely decides not to stray too far in that direction (even if you believe it to be harmless, there's no need to cause another Satanic Panic). Part of the appeal of magic to authors is that they can go crazy making things up and don't need to spend hours researching real world systems for accuracy.

[Turbo-Laser Ninjadragon]

Originally posted by Mick:

Can you?

I was thinking of getting this game?

You know what Mick, just roll with it. It's a game about being baba yaga's understudy. it would be weird if you were playing as a dude.

Baba yaga is an old lady witch in Slavic folklore. It would be cool if there were more games based in Slavic folklore but this is not the one in which to play as a boy witch, which strictly speaking there are none in Slavic folktales. All witches in Slavic folktales are female.

I don't Like it when girls complain that they can't play as a girl in DOOM, maybe you should just let this one sit.

it's OK for girls to have girl things and for duded to have dude things, really.
We still share and have fun but the solution is not to create a world where people of common interest have none of their own things because it upsets people from a completely different interest group.

If it was a cold winter and you were outside on Christmas I would invite you in to share Christmas because I'm a nice guy...that would not be an invitation to start moving my furniture around.

[Turbo-Laser Ninjadragon]

Originally posted by Greywander:

Originally posted by The Storyteller:

No, that would be a warlock.

No warlocks in this witch game.
Witch = woman.
Warlock = men.

This game is about a girl (XX chromosomes, human female.)
^^

I think it depends somewhat on the specific culture you're talking about, but generally speaking I don't think this is historically accurate. "Witch" is not a gendered term, and male witches can exist. "Warlock" originally meant "oath-breaker", which could mean a variety of things. From my searches, it looks like two common interpretations of "warlock" include witches who betray their coven, and witches who place an emphasis on their split from Christianity (i.e. they either broke their oath to their coven, or broke their oath to God).

It's only more recently that "witch" has come to specifically refer to female practitioners, while "warlock" has lost its connotations as an oath-breaker and been adopted as a generic term for male witches. But this is still far from universal.

In fantasy, there's often a lot of interchangability when it comes to magic and the terms used. A specific type of magic might be referred to as sorcery in one setting, but wizardry in another (e.g. Harry Potter wizards would be sorcerers in D&D since their magic is innate/genetic). One setting might have male witches, another might call male witches by another name, and yet another might dictate that only women can practice witchcraft in the first place (e.g. there is no male equivalent).

It's hard to nail down anything as definitive if you're not talking about a specific real world mystical tradition, and most fiction wisely decides not to stray too far in that direction (even if you believe it to be harmless, there's no need to cause another Satanic Panic). Part of the appeal of magic to authors is that they can go crazy making things up and don't need to spend hours researching real world systems for accuracy.

Witch IS a gendered term in Slavic Folklore and the shift in the meaning of the term "Warlock" is a modern occurrence, it actually just means "Oath breaker" look it up.
Are you male? Did you take an oath and then break it? Congratulations you're a warlock.

There are Male magic users, they are "Sorcerers" and until about 300 years ago every early scientist you know of was one. The term "Scientist" is really super young.

The motivation behind these shifts in terminology was to create a distinction that would allow one to study natural philosophy and avoid being burned at the stake.

Practitioners of ACTUAL magic as we think of it today were pretty much called Thaumaturgists "miracle workers" or they were demonologists, as in summoning , binding and commanding demons.

"wizard" just means 'Someone who is very wise', and it's derogatory, as in mocking. Disappointing right?

[zombygunner]

Gamepage should say female protag on it and it does not. Ive spent 46 years as a boy i dont want to break a good thing up.

[zombygunner]

in the normal world dudes are worlocks girls are witches thats it.

[Turbo-Laser Ninjadragon]

Originally posted by zombygunner:

Gamepage should say female protag on it and it does not. Ive spent 46 years as a boy i dont want to break a good thing up.

I am also male. I am so male that I would give Tom Selleck a run for his money...it would be a close contest. And I'm heterosexual.

I still don't care that the witch is a little girl because it's consistent with the story. it makes sense. I just made a little girl witch that I thought looked like she best fit the role and played along. You are not going to feel super immersed in this game and Reka never says anything so you're not going to relate to her. It's completely possible to play this game as a dude without feeling like you are playing AS a girl.

I like the story (though there isn't very much of it) it's god a mood to it and I'm enjoying it, though in truth I am mostly enjoying the building on a chicken part.

Play it man, you'll get over the little girl part and agree that it's kind of like reading a fairy tail because that's what it is basically.

the only criticisms I have are that there isn't enough spot on slavic folklore and my Serbian grandmother, (who was very nearly Baba Jaga herself, god rest her soul) would totally agree.

While cooking is magical it isn't MAGIC and magic extends well beyond cleansing which is really not something anyone needs to be a witch to do. there's only a single tarot card (the Moon) in the entire game, it's super expensive and sells for less than it costs to buy. You can't explore the mountains in your chicken house, you can't construct your own rituals, you can;t make or collect charms that will benefit you in any way, there are no talismans in the entire game, there's no inventing interesting potions for people and then watching how it plays out while giggling if you gave them the wrong one, or gave them one you invented yourself. none of that.

My grandmother would have some things to say about that, She believed Baba Jaga was real. She used to say that there were places in the world you do not go because you will either be eaten by wolves or if you are very unlucky you will run into Baba Jaga...got that? finding Baba Jaga is LESS lucky then being eaten by wolves.


there should be a game where you are a young Boy who is the Volkhv understudy of Koshchei...because Koschchei is awesome. He's basically a Litch. I would enjoy that more I think,

just...don't contribute to the obsession with inclusion because it's madness no matter what direction it's aimed. Maybe think of this game as being like Girls Basketball... I think what you want is Boys basketball... not the option to play girls basketball as a boy so that girls don't have girls basketball anymore right?

[Turbo-Laser Ninjadragon]

In some tales Koshchei and Baba Jaga were actually married. I guess if they aren't anymore it's very likely due to the fact that Koshchei is a dawg. He's a very powerful sorcerer who is additionally basically encrusted in magical objects which I presume he made himself. A game made about Koshchei would be both a very dark game and a very fun one. It would be ALL magic and almost nothing else and not the happy pretty colorful kind but the kind where you eventually become a litch.

But it wouldn't be a children's game that's for sure.

[zombygunner]

No. I just wont buy it but thanks.

[mehtarelingolien]

Originally posted by zombygunner:

No. I just wont buy it but thanks.

You're missing out, but go ahead and be stupid.