Witch Awakening 4 - Blade & Grace Update

-Based on "Witch CYOA"

TL;DR?
You should be able to navigate this cyoa reading only blue text if you see a text wall. Not counting option descriptions, of course.

Introduction

You really woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, nothing felt right since before you even opened your eyes. A disconnecting sense of wrongness like you were living a lie, that life was a dream. Your food tasted wrong, colors seemed different but you couldn't articulate why. The only thing that felt right was the calling. That deep nagging feeling like you should do something kept pulling at your attention all morning, all but demanding you go for a walk.

Eventually you gave in, following that pull on your mind. At first the way was familiar, until there was a path you'd never noticed before that led you to a small lake you feel like you should have known about. Brushing foliage away from your face that was masking a direct view of the lake, you step across the boundary into the clearing through a sense of resistance as though walking through a curtain of air. With it came a sense of relief and comfort, taking away your unease that clung to you all day, and as it faded away, the lake and your surroundings smoothly bloomed with new vibrance of color and detail. There on the waters you could see more clearly through every blink, a quaint shop sitting atop a tangle of vines reminiscent of spiders legs, and a woody gnarled but elegant bridge arching from its doorstep to the shore.

It appears to be a kind of antiques store, with a window full of antiques, and it says it's open...
obviously, you should probably check it out. [Y/N?] [N... GAME OVER.] [Y]

Stepping onto the wood, it seems real enough. The polished wooden door doesn't creak when you open it but it chimes a little bell while you soak in the assault of information in the room inside. For one, it's much larger than the outside suggested, and it's cram packed full of tables, counters, shelves, filled with antiques illuminated in a reddish glow from the many red silk and velvet draperies over the windows.

From behind a counter you see a sleepy looking woman, resting with her cheek in one palm until a "Mooo!" from an unseen cow somewhere shakes her awake and she jolts up "Wha- OH!" She perks up 0-10 and locks eyes on you. "A new witch at this hour! Goodness! I wasn't expecting anyone until tomorrow." Witch? She is dressed as though it were Halloween with her comically large hat. Sensing some incredulousness, she continues without skipping a beat. "Don't worry, I get it, I do this for a living. Waking up new witches is my thing. Free of charge, with just a little bit of guided meditation and you're in for a new life of magic, and seeing what the world is really like..." She snaps her fingers and an equally voluptuous maid with a cowbell choker appears pushing a cushioned chair, and the lights dim leaving only purple candle-like flames hovering around the strange woman.

"Just relax... take my hand, and look into my eyes. That's right." ... Perhaps uncharacteristic to how you may have reacted, you don't provide resistance.

Game Modes
See "Game Modes" in Complications for alternate modes of play. Slot modes are simplified and may be more enjoyable to many players. Don't hesitate to try it out!

True Form - Class

"Ahh, yes... Oh, wow! You have an incredible amount of untapped power waiting. First things first: You'll need your true form! We used to simply wait for it to emerge, but these days we can poke and prod the right places to provoke a controlled early awakening. Most witches have multiple potential true forms and one gets locked in when they finally awaken, but with a controlled environment we can force one over the others. Your options don't represent all possible outcomes, but let's see what you have available. First up is what type of witch you are, you can think of it like a "Class" of witch."

Your witch type determines the method by which you can naturally progress over time towards a power cap. You will have the same power cap and starting power regardless of type "and you're lucky! You've got more than most witches, and it looks like you might be capable of using Rank 5 magic, normally a strong witch only reaches rank 3", You can pre spend up to your power cap to confirm you have the potential for something to unlock someday, if you wish. It's up to you how well adapted you are to your starting abilities, perhaps you want to study them for a while before you have a full grasp on them?

Magician

Magicians, sometimes called academics, are the scholarly spellcaster, they have a gift for magic but must study to improve their magic. Their thorough approach to magic tends to be slower if you want to have a life outside of study, but the most rewarding as they comprehend in more depth and their growth is in their own hands, advancing as slow or fast as time allows. Magicians gain 1 Focus for every day in which they averaged 4 hours of study, 2 for 8 hours. You can use focus to buy a Power point for 10 Focus. This cost increases by 10 Focus per purchase. (10, 20, 30, etc).

Start with 30 power
Player magicians eventually cap out at 100 power before other factors like complications.

Any option marked with the blue icon has a flat cost reduction of -2 Power to its price, which can reduce it to 0, or become a gain of 1 point, or complications give 2 more power. This applies only once per option, and always applies after other discounts.

Advantage: General use magic and classics.
Magicians favor mixed bags like Potions, Runes, and Portals.

Any magic marked with blue used by a magician produces twice the yield or is half as time consuming, mana draining, or tiresome to use. Two potions for the price of one, two runes for the price of one, etc.

Any duration of a blue marked magic effect applied by you, to you or to another, lasts twice as long.

For example, double the duration of a temporary potion.

A magician can study to master any two schools of magic for free, but takes time to learn equal to if you were saving the power to buy it, but no Power is spent.

Sorceress

Sorceresses are inherently imbued with magic as natural extensions of their will so they tend to be more in tune with their bodies and grow through tactile training. They're naturals but tend to have less of a tangible understanding of how and why magic works or interesting implications of magical theory. Fireballs go boom, ain't gotta explain sheit.

Sorceresses gain 1 Might for every day in which they averaged 1 hour of straining practice, 2 for 4 hours. You can use Might to buy a Power point for 10 Might. This cost increases by 10 Might per purchase. (10, 20, 30, etc)

Start with 30 power
Player sorceresses eventually cap out at 100 power before other factors like complications.

Any option marked with the red icon has a flat cost reduction of -2 Power to its price, which can reduce it to 0, or become a gain of 1 point, or complications give 2 more power. This applies only once per option, and always applies after other discounts.

Advantage: Inner power and direct combat usage.
Sorceresses favor direct magic like Elementalist magic. They are not limited by affinity when buying elementalist magics of affinities they do not have, and one that matches their affinities can be taken for free.

Sorceresses have stronger and more unique auras that are like beacons to anyone who can detect them. This aura can color any elemental magic the sorceress uses, such as white flames, gold stone, black water, or prismatic wind. This includes Naturalism. If they choose to use colored elementalism, then that magic is 50% more damaging, with 50% larger areas of effect and range.

Warlock

Warlocks are endowed with power from some third party. Their power can't be taken back afterward anymore than such an entity might be capable of stealing power from any other witch. Instead of studying, or training, they spend time in service, partnership, employ, or worship of a patron.

They grow by gaining Favor with their patron(s), by doing quests, the Warlock gains Favor equal to the Reward value of the quest. Warlocks can trade Favor 1-1 directly for Power due to the scarcity, being dependent on Quests. A Warlock can continue to do quests without a quest slot, but doing so offers no rewards except Favor.

Start with 30 power
Player warlocks eventually cap out at 100 power before other factors like complications.

Any option marked with the green icon has a flat cost reduction of -2 Power to its price, which can reduce it to 0, or become a gain of 1 point, or complications give 2 more power. This applies only once per option, and always applies after other discounts.

Advantage: Darker and external magics, Relic usage.
Warlocks favor indirect power like Hexes and Curses.

They have a personalized brand they can mark on any relic they own or willing creatures. They always know the location of one of their marks and can target it from anywhere.

Warlocks have 20 points worth of free Reward Points to spend on purchasing Relics, which are Soulbound for free. Any class that buys Relics with Power Soulbinds the relics, making them summoned at-will. Warlocks can soulbind additional relics that they purchased with RP by investing 1 power on top of its RP cost.

Wizard

WIZARDS, officially not a kind of Witch - if you were male you do not have to buy the cheap perk to stay that way- Instead, You must buy that perk with the prefix "No-" to be female. The rare male witches of the traditional three may get called wizards now and then, but you may be a True Wizard. There will usually only be 1 True Wizard alive at any given time but shenanigans can fudge that.

You have the growth methods of FOCUS, MIGHT, and FAVOR at the expense that a Wizard requires magical implements in order to use magic, effectively having the Crutch complication inherent, and all True Wizards must be human - They must choose Neutral as their primary race, but may still buy Hybridize.

A wizard is a "prepared spellcaster", in order to use magic they acquire "spell components" related to the Class and the Affinities associated with the magic. Components are not consumed, and can be reused. This is separate from the magic implement, but components can be "Baked in" to one.

Start with 20 power
Player Wizards eventually cap out at 110 power before other factors like complications.

The Wizard benefits from all class discounts.

Advantage: An allrounder with a wide breath of talents.
The Wizard may also start with a Soulbound Heirloom relic. The Heirloom is how you can use the mothergifts of a witch, their preferred shape will always be a wizardly robe, hat, staff. Wizards are able to trace "Leylines" & erect Wizard Towers with pointed roofs that tap into it, usually at "places of power" where multiple leylines intersect. PoPs usually naturally draw in intelligent life so many will have civilization or ruins. While in a connected Wizard Tower, all your magic is doubled in range, area, dmg, duration, as well as your charge rate.

Slayer

SLAYERS are also not officially a kind of witch either, they may be male without requiring a perk, or female unlike wizard. Slayers are known to be witch-hunters. They do not naturally possess a spark of magic, by they have the slayerforce with which they can grow in Power to acquire perks and everything but Magics, with exception for Alchemy, Runes, Hexes, and Faction magics.

A slayer who is sufficiently close with a witch and has a thread of fate linking them, may access her mana and use magic that she has. In practice, this means your COMPANIONS become a catalogue for your magic spellcasting but they must be nearby in order to access them.

You may still take a non-human Race, and you only gain charge by taking Mana from slain magic creatures or borrowed from Companions. They lack a growth method but may acquire power from quests in which they slay magical creatures, as per a warlock, but don't have "Favor". They can "upcast" by taking Growth from others.

Start with 20 power
Player Slayers eventually cap out at 110 power before other factors like complications. They don't have Class or Affinity discounts, instead they can copy one discount per companion, Class or Affinity.

Advantage
Slayers are drawn by Fate itself to slay evil or troublemaking magical creatures, including witches and rogue minor deities. They in effect have protagonist level plot armor and if there is any way to defeat a creature, the Slayer will sooner or later stumble on it based on that creature's competence and fate resistance - you will still die if you get lazy or cocky, but - The Slayer is also considerably more likely to escape a lethal situation with their life, even if it may result in a painful road-to-recovery story arc.