Dungeon Master: When I first developed the concept of the Night Witch I imagined her as an evil hag, one of three powerful evil witches in the Twilight Forest: The Night Witch, the Ban-Shi, and the washer woman. These were supposed to be the stuff of nightmares and children's stories. I wanted these witches to embody the darkest corners of folklore —characters that would resonate with the primal fears we all harbor.
Dungeon Master: But, when it came to the Night Witch I wanted to go beyond the typical portrayal of witches in fantasy. She’s evil, but where does that evil come from? What drives her to do all the horrible things she’s attributed with? I wanted to make sense of her evil to make her a really believable villain.
Dungeon Master: A central theme in my campaign is an ancient war between the Aesir and the Vanir, the two families of the gods in Norse Mythology. According to Old Norse lore, the Vanir lost that war and Freya, queen of the elves, was taken as permanent hostage by the victorious Aesir.
Dungeon Master: In my story, then, before the war the Night Witch close to Freya. Their bond as sisters is crucial to understanding her motivations. When Freya was taken as a hostage this was a turning point for the Night Witch. She has never let go of that loss, and her hatred for the Aesir, especially Odin, is intense and deeply personal. She blames them for Freya’s abduction and eventual fate in Ragnarok. But there’s more to her than just hatred. Her actions, though often cruel and unforgiving, stem from a place of profound loss and a fierce love for her ‘sister.’ This duality makes her a fascinating character.
Dungeon Master: Now, thousands of years later she is a shadow of her former self. Her hatred has transformed her into a hideously ugly creature, and a powerful witch. But as the characters interact with her, her appearance and demeanor shifts with with her mood. If the players cooperate with her she gets younger and more amenable. The shift is symbolic of her inner turmoil and the dual nature of her character. It’s a visual representation of her struggle between her past and her actions in the present.
Dungeon Master: Seeing my players react to the Night Witch, feeling that mix of awe and fear, that’s when I knew she had become a part of our shared storytelling experience. She was alive in the imaginations of everyone at that table.
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