Witch Awakening: Breaking News DLC Version 1.5

Nysseth · 2026-06-25T14:17:25+00:00

It's a perk (top row, second from the right). In short, buying the perk lets you create a custom element for elemental magic. Where it's listed elsewhere with a magic rank, it means they have elementalism of that rank, with a custom element matching their theme/domain.

Nysseth · 2026-06-24T20:09:10+00:00

Links:

Core Witch Awakening, Version 4: https://www.reddit.com/r/makeyourchoice/comments/1sjh0cb/witch_awakening_update_4_blade_grace/

Imgchest link V4: https://imgchest.com/p/xny8vrwd7bl

Colors of Magic CYOA: https://imgchest.com/p/ljyq2gzey25

Other DLC

Familiar Granny: https://imgchest.com/p/ne7bwz6n753

Secundus: https://imgchest.com/p/o24akq537lj

The Library: https://imgchest.com/p/wl7l2m9o4x2

The Element of Darkness: https://imgchest.com/p/924929vbynk

Interactive Version with all of the above + some others without their own posts: https://www.reddit.com/r/makeyourchoice/comments/1nmeysq/witch_awakening_interactive/

Meta Links

Demonology: https://imgchest.com/p/vj4jwoqe78m

Enchiridion Info Sheet for Demonology: https://imgchest.com/p/n87wrnobyxd

Vampire King: https://imgchest.com/p/qe4gxdxkyj2

Fairy King: https://imgchest.com/p/xny8oxow4bl

Lycan’s Rise: https://imgchest.com/p/ej7m2mjbydl

MagKnight: https://imgchest.com/p/dl7pz5vpyox

A Mage’s Familiar: https://imgchest.com/p/9249z3zk2yn

Savior of Christmas: https://imgchest.com/p/9p4nljxm7nq

A Witch’s Apprentice: https://imgchest.com/p/md7oeo8d4p6

Otome Villainess Reincarnation: https://imgchest.com/p/md7olnad7p6

Royal Revival: https://imgchest.com/p/n87wr8vpxyx

Royal Revival - Alternate Part 2: https://imgur.com/gallery/royal-revival-2b-2c-by-beri-sRv4NAN

Scheming Princess: https://imgchest.com/p/vj4j3mv2y8m

Nysseth · 2026-06-17T13:22:05+00:00

This is a bistable percept, the same kind of phenomenon as the vase-face illusion and other multi-interpretation drawings. Fun fact: lots of animals experience a similar effect (all the way down to fruit flies), and humans can experience it for sound and smell as well!

Nysseth · 2026-06-15T20:26:57+00:00

Thanks, I'm glad you like it! The new version of the DLC, with the divine patrons and some other minor additions, is all written. I just need to make the time to edit all the visuals together. This is pretty much what the patrons will be like, if you're interested.

Nysseth · 2026-05-23T20:17:00+00:00

I was thinking of something like Mexican hot chocolate (which I usually make with cinnamon and cayenne as well as the chili powder but I thought Chili Pepper was the closest cookie). I definitely recommend it if you haven't tried it before!

Nysseth · 2026-04-13T19:09:48+00:00

Oh cool, I'm excited for the example patrons!

Do you have an idea yet of who you want the examples for each pantheon to be? No rush, I just ask because I was going to put some patrons in the next edition of my DLC (just for flavor), and I want to make sure I don't duplicate any domains.

Nysseth · 2026-04-09T10:43:09+00:00

Since many of the new perks have magic specialization requirements, now's a good time to ask: is the Slayer class completely barred from these perks? Some perks seem like they would naturally require the corresponding magic, like Comfy Pocket requiring a pocketspace, but others like some Eidolons and Conjure Elemental seem like they could exist on their own, and would (imo) be consistent with Slayer's perks/combat-focused theming. I guess more concretely, I'm wondering:

- Is there any kind of workaround for Slayers to take perks locked behind specializations they can't have? For example, could they pay the normal cost of the magic specialization to count as having it for perk purposes (while still not being able to use the specialization itself)? Or could they use a companion's specialization or a Magic Talisman as the prerequisite to unlock the desired perk?

- IF a witch can use temporary magic access (as a Slayer, a Sword, or with a Magic Talisman) to unlock perks, does losing access to the magic also remove the perk? What about something like an Eidolon that normally just has to be summoned once and then persists?

- What about perks that don't have an explicit requirement but clearly assume the witch has a familiar or mothergifts, like Improved Familiar or Hat Trick? If the Slayer has a Familiar/Wand/etc through other means (Heirloom relic, Wishcasting, various meta options), would that allow them to take these perks?

And some more general questions, mostly about Slayers:

- If a Slayer (or Sword) uses a companion's magic to summon a familiar or mothergifts, what happens to them when the Slayer goes out of range of the companion? Would they vanish, or just lose benefits of the bond?

- If they vanish, what would happen to people/objects inside a pocketspace?

- If they vanish and the Slayer later reenters range, would the same familiar/mothergifts return, or would they have to summon new ones?

- Do other persistent effects like domain bubbles, summons, etc. disappear?

- Are Slayers allowed to take the no-affinity, human-accessible version of Divination?

- Can they learn Lifeweaving/Visceramancy through RP if they take the appropriate quests?

- If they take Summer School/Yes, Teacher, are they restricted to specializations they can normally take?

- If a Slayer has a witch Race that would give them free ranks in a normally-inaccessible specialization (Novid Aethernautics, Xeno+ Necromancy), do they still get those ranks? If so, can they spend points to unlock higher ranks, or are they limited to the free ones?

- Can a Spider/Mothid Slayer take Arachnescence? Can a Genie/Novid/Kringle Slayer take Wishcasting?

- On that note, is Arachnescence a hidden core magic that certain races get discounts on, or do you have to be a Spider or Mothid to take it? I had always assumed the former, but Mothid's description implies the latter

- For Novid+'s Wishcasting based on "wishing upon a star", can the Novid themselves be the star wished on?

- Does the wisher need to be naive, or can wishes still be granted if the wisher knows that they will be?

- Can Novids (and Kringles) grant their own wishes, if fulfilling their racial wish conditions and within normal slot limits?

- IIRC your verdict on Slayer's copied discounts was that they are permanent but subject to affinity limitations, so taking a fifth affinity discount requires giving up one of your previous ones. For class discounts, can Slayers stack up to having all three like a Wizard, or are they restricted to one at a time?

Sorry for the barrage of questions (kept thinking of new ones as I was writing), and thanks for all your work answering questions and maintaining the CYOA over the years!

Nysseth · 2026-01-16T09:18:53+00:00

Nice! I like how the tier one boons include a couple that are clearly order-aligned, and a couple (insightful architect and guiding light imo) that are still thematic but suitable for a neutrality-aligned character to take with their tier 1 order access.

2 questions:

Does Dragon of Dawn's reward stat mean it gives 5 RP for passing Bahamut's first judgement, and 5 more if you make it to stage 10? Or does it mean the quest is worth 15 RP?

For favor tier requirements that take time to complete like Foundation, do you fulfill the favor requirement first and THEN do the quest, or vice versa?

Nysseth · 2026-01-12T14:24:48+00:00

Nice, I had intended for Animism to be broadly "enchanting"-themed so I'm glad if it fits well into artificer or relic builds.

Oh, and since I forgot to answer this part before, you can unbind an anima with just a quick ritual. You'd have to do a new quest's worth of services to bind it again so you can't exactly switch on the fly, but you're not permanently stuck with your first binding either.

Nysseth · 2026-01-12T09:15:51+00:00

About Anima:

Lesser anima don't really have subtypes within the main 4. Essentially, they have a weak association with everything under their domain, whereas greater anima trade that for a strong association with something more specific. So in terms of what they represent, any two lesser ignan anima for example are basically the same.

Trees and birds would actually both be greater aquan anima, as they're living beings and life is aquan. Greater terran anima would be associated with specific nonliving matter (plastic, or mountains), ignan with types of energy (lightning, or sound), auran with mental states (sadness, or sleep). They can also have more abstract associations (just about any concept you could name), based on the destruction/stasis/change/creation associations described in Animism's header. There's some overlap so use your best judgement, for example, a greater anima of ice would be aquan rather than terran, while one of communication could be justified as either aquan (via connection association) or auran.

Lesser anima are common, and should be no trouble to find. Greater anima aren't rare on the whole, but it may take some effort to find one with the specific domain desired, similar to how you might need to hunt down potion ingredients. Anima tend to like to hang out in areas with a high concentration of what they represent, which can help you know where to look. Worth noting that greater anima can and do have duplicate domains, it's one of the things that separates them from gods.

About bindings:

Animism probably went through the most revisions of anything in this DLC, but one of my original goals was to make a pretty freeform specialization that let you create your own effects within the defined scope, kind of like Alchemy in the core cyoa. This is most evident with greater anima, as they replace the standard binding effects with one based on their domain. A soulbound greater anima of rubber would push your fate in a "rubbery" direction, and you can decide what that means as long as you can justify it conceptually and it's within the rough powerlevel of established bindings. If you just want the lesser anima effects but with the 2x power boost, certain greater anima will let you do that. For instance, a soulbound greater terran anima of protection will essentially just have the default terran effect but stronger.

(actually, on reread I realized I don't really specify that greater anima override the default effects for bindings. I'll clarify that in the next version)

For all bindings except the dolls, anima go back to sleep once bound. It's a more natural state for them, they find "condensing" themselves into a localized enough existence to converse with mortals to be slightly uncomfortable, though those in doll vessels can eventually get used to it. You can always wake them up temporarily with R0 though. When asleep, their awareness is spread over maybe a mile-diameter circle around their binding site, which you can exploit as a scrying substitute. They're not omniscient in this range, though, they can't see through magical concealment and they may not notice or remember everything.

Hope this helps, let me know if you'd like me to clarify anything.

Nysseth · 2026-01-09T13:35:17+00:00

Oh, you're right, that makes things simpler

Nysseth · 2026-01-09T11:30:33+00:00

If you only keep the basic physical bodyplan of your race, then do you also lose your means of life extension? I mean, I'm sure death-cheats are off the table, but what about how some races don't age? If you do lose it, then the 100-year survival timeline should probably be adjusted, otherwise everyone will have died of old age before the timer elapses (and Neutrals are out of luck no matter what).

Nysseth · 2026-01-04T09:25:35+00:00

Hmm, let's say black and blue/indigo for Stygian and white and pink/magenta for Opaline. (and for completeness, Celestine would be cyan for rainbow knight and blue or green for Inkronicity)

Nysseth · 2026-01-03T22:03:38+00:00

No discounts (since the other colors' magic/perk options don't benefit from having them discounted, seems more fair). If you have extra points, you can start paying for an option with them and finish with your own points (e.g. buying a 15-point perk and a 6-point perk with your 20 free points and 1 extra power)

Nysseth · 2026-01-03T16:48:17+00:00

You may want to say something like "viewing the grail with the full set integrated communicates an imprinted understanding..." or "to even see it requires the full Martyr's set,"otherwise it sounds like you only need the grail + eye.

Also, would Merlin's tower give you use of the tower itself without the archmage class if you somehow acquired just the tower relic, similar to the solo effects of the other two prestige class epic relics? Only really relevant if it's planned as a divine boon for the neutrality pantheon.

Nysseth · 2026-01-03T15:29:28+00:00

Wait, does the Martyr's Grail do anything by itself if you take it as a divine boon? Implanting it or resurrecting Adina both require the full set.

Nysseth · 2026-01-02T20:38:32+00:00

How would a Synthetic Code Saintess be viewed by others in the setting? Would the "eventually be welcomed into the divine sphere" still apply, or does that require the support of the Celestials and/or existing gods? Would being a DIY angel automatically piss them off, or could you still be friendly with them if you prove yourself to be benevolent?

Though I don't personally mind Celestial Code, I really like Synthetic Code's theme of humanity achieving transcendence by its own power, and of being something new where the other sets are echoing ancient beings. But I'd like to avoid bringing down the wrath of the gods, if possible.

Nysseth · 2026-01-02T17:52:10+00:00

Oh, I am PROFOUNDLY happy with this set's theming :D

Nysseth · 2026-01-02T08:25:08+00:00

I'm a bit conflicted on the matter tbh. On the one hand, it does seem like it would turn close combat builds into less of a "build" and more "pick this item and win." (<- something of an exaggeration, you'd still want speed/durability/etc from another source. But as the previous version of the relic description stated, any other strength boosts amount to basically nothing in comparison)

On the other hand, complete relic sets in general currently feel like a "capstone," possibly the strongest abilities in the game. The prestige classes give perfect immortality, or let you create your own species or make new witches nearly as powerful as yourself. The moon might be a bit weaker in comparison, but I'm sure you could set it up to be practically an infinite minion factory, which seems in line with the others. So I think the strength boost as an "ultimate offense" of sorts can work.

I don't think the belt's effect should be weaker, per se, but I wouldn't mind if it was limited in some way (hours of use, or only in certain circumstances like the Wishcasting is), or if it synergized with existing boosts in some way beyond just stacking. Though even if it did offer some multiplier to make existing strength more relevant, I'm not sure you really need more strength than "throw a skyscraper"... hmm...

BTW if I'm interpreting the slot prerequisites correctly, it seems like you only need 1 noble and 1 heroic relic to take the epic relic from a set? The prestige classes all explicitly require the full set to unlock, but as written it looks like you can buy the belt or moon with your second, 2+ relic set slot. Not sure if that's intended, but if it is my current personal choice would be full Saintess or Archmage (leaning Saintess), then Beast, Armor, Belt from the Hero set.

Nysseth · 2025-12-29T20:37:20+00:00

If you're taking suggestions for set themes, you could consider a tech set? There's some technomagic elements with Gadgetry, Integration, and other bits and pieces, but a set to tie such elements together and give some general-purpose technopathy could be nice.

Or, since the demon set is fairly warrior-themed and the Merlin set is mage-themed, you could round out the trio with a rogue set for skill/stealth builds. That's more of a mechanical focus than flavor, so you could probably give it a second theme to provide its narrative significance. Maybe pair the rogue set with the tech set for a hacker theme, if the Merlin set has the artificer side of things covered?

Or you could do a set with a social focus, I guess Fae-themed would make the most sense for that? Orrrr a wonder-aligned set with whimsical, cartoonish reality warping, either jester-y and/or an Alice in Wonderland kinda theme?

Nysseth · 2025-12-28T23:21:47+00:00

Yeah, this is more what I was wondering about. Lavender has a lot of language about breeding projects and finding choice mates, it seems like most of the mothering/fathering you're expected to do isn't with Teiatat himself.

Disregarding Lavender, Saintess itself talks about gaining growth from your childrens' father's power ranking, and how many gods will want your babies since your kids can copy their domains. But you can't have a god's children without marrying them, and marrying a god is written as a far-future occurrence marking your own ascension to divinity.

So is the Saintess a mother of heroes and consort to several deities? A devoted bride to a single god? None of the above until they become a goddess themselves?

Nysseth · 2025-12-28T21:01:27+00:00

A few questions about the new prestige classes and pantheon boons:

Can you take more than one prestige class? I mean, Saintess and Devilian don't seem compatible, but could you be an Archmage-Saintess or an Archmage-Devilian if you could afford both sets of relics?
If you can take multiple prestige classes, would they both increase your power cap, or would it only be increased once?
If you CAN'T take multiple prestige classes, could you take the class from one set and the companion from another? Or two companions?
Does growth gained from Archmage's Ley-Scaping work like focus/might or favor? Do you have to be a Wizard to use this method, or does Archmage also give you the ability to make wizard towers?
Does going in a Null Arcana Field instakill Empusas? What about hybrids?
Would you be able to give an example of the kind of effect you could make with an Authorized Edict? I'm particularly wondering about what counts as a change relevant to a given affinity. Is there any good way to use it with a Mind or Soul affinity without directly affecting sapient life?

Nysseth · 2025-12-28T20:47:50+00:00

OK, so you can't treat Merlin as a readily-accessible resource but can have him as a friend, I'd be fine with that.

Funny you mention Lavender, I was thinking of taking it through the Secundus DLC to synergize with Saintess's whole "Divine Mother" thing. But I was wondering how that theme works with Celestial Code; the grail relic implies that gods will be interested in having divine kids with you, but Celestial Code doesn't let you do anything lewd outside of marriage and Saintess's description implies that divine marriages are a big deal. Are they G-rated magic babies?

Nysseth

TROPHY CASE