Editing Witch Doctor

{{Topquote|Ooh Eeh Ooh Ah Aah Ting Tang Walla Walla Bing Bang!|The Witch Doctor}}

A '''Witch Doctor''' is a form of traditional healer and/or magic-user native to tribal cultures; whereas the [[Shaman]] communes with the spirits and is essentially a tribal [[Cleric]], the Witch Doctor is more of a cleric/[[wizard]] hybrid, specializing in performing ritual magics and in warding off the debilitating effects of evil magic. Hence the name: they are "doctors" who specially combat "[[witch]]craft".

The term is typically used on /tg/ to refer to a tribal [[wizard]] or [[sorcerer]], often less focused on healing and more on non-blasty combat spells; curses, summons, that sort of thing. Ironically, their ability to call forth [[undead]] and spirit beings or inflict curses often means that they actually play like an actual [[witch]], which isn't that unprecedented; some tribal belief systems basically present witches and witch doctors as two sides of the same coin, with the difference being whether they use their magic to help people or harm them.

The term isn't used much these days, along with several other similarly archetypical terms, because of its potentially racist presentations in older works and tendency to be used as a catch-all for other vaguely-similar-but-still-distinct cultural figures.

Witch Doctors are heavily associated with Voodoo, as it's the most prominent "tribal" religion in the mainstream consciousness; the Houngan and the Mambo are basically the masculine and feminine equivalents for Witch Doctor in the Voodoun heirarchy, whilst the Bokor is their version of a Witch.

==BECMI D&D==
In [[Dungeons & Dragons|BECMI]], the Witch Doctor motif is assimilated into the Wicca (later renamed the Wokani), the "Humanoid" version of the [[Wizard]]; described as a primitive "tribal" version of the wizard which evokes its spells through dancing, howling, roaring and shaking fetishes or talismans, the Wokani's theme is reinforced by its restriction to a spell-list based predominantly around utilitarian wizard spells (and a handful of offensive ones at higher level): This spell-list is listed below for reference, spells with a * at their end can be cast in reversed form (so Stone to Flesh reverses into Flesh to Stone)

Level 1:
* Detect Magic
* Light
* Protection from Evil
* Read Languages
* Read Magic
* Sleep

Level 2:
* Continual Light*
* Detect Evil
* Detect Invisible
* Invisibility
* Levitate
* Web

Level 3:
* Clairvoyance
* Dispel Magic
* Fireball
* Fly
* Lightning Bolt
* Water Breathing

Level 4:
* Charm Monster
* Growth of Plants
* Ice Storm/Wall
* Massmorph
* Remove Curse*
* Wall of Fire

Level 5:
* Animate Dead
* Cloudkill
* Dissolve* 
* Hold Monster* 
* Pass-Wall
* Wall of Stone

Level 6:
* Death Spell
* Move Earth
* Projected Image
* Reincarnation
* Stone to Flesh*
* Wall of Iron

==AD&D==
In [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]], the Witch Doctor is one of several "savage" [[kits]] introduced in the [[Complete Book Series|Complete Book of Humanoids]], and is functionally a hyper-specialized [[cleric]]/[[wizard]]; this Cleric kit is... confusingly described. It's stated that it has the same special benefits as a [[Shaman]], can take Wizard proficiencies without costing extra slots, are "limited to a single school of magic", "cannot gain priest or wizard spells outside the chosen spheres and school", and "cast wizard spells at half their level (rounded up)". Presumably, they gain the shaman's healing & herbalism skills and ability to cast Reincarnation as a 5th level spell from 9th level on, but it's unclear if they share the shaman's restriction of only three different spheres, being unable to turn/control undead, and never being allowed to cast Raise Dead or Resurrection.

An alternative to the Witch Doctor is the [[Obeah]], which debuted in [[Dragon Magazine]] #251.

==3e==
In [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition]], the Witch Doctor was transformed into the less-/pol/-seeming [[Adept]] NPC class.

==Deadlands==
In [[Deadlands]], the Voodooist is an [[Arcane Background]] based on the archetypical Voodoo witch doctor. "Conjure Doctor" is even one of its alternative names!

==Warhammer Fantasy==
The [[Pygmies (Warhammer Fantasy)]] had Witch Doctors, two in each village, one devoted to one of the two Brother Gods of the Pygmies, Beesbok or Brobat. They could summon the ghosts of the deceased or banish them, depending on if they followed Brobat or Beesbok.

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]] [[Category: Deadlands]]