Witches
Seloria, the Witchmother, stole the language of gods and wove it with the whispers of the Void.
Witches are one of the four playable species in Descendants of Darkness. They wield magic, draw upon Energy, and can build Witch Resurrection on eligible dead regular humans. Completing the spell schedules a human's return; it does not revive them immediately.
This page covers the Witch-specific parts of play. For rules shared by every species, see Gameplay, Combat, and the Main HUD guide.
Quick reference
| Feature | Witch rule |
|---|---|
| Primary resource | Energy |
| Combat identity | Magic |
| Unique human ability | Witch Resurrection |
| Valid Resurrection target | An eligible dead regular human |
| Initial wait after death | 21 days |
| Partial Resurrection expiry | After 7 days without further progress |
| Scheduled revival period | 21 days after progress reaches 100% |
| Blood on return | 1.0 litre |
| Website records | Witch Resurrections and the private Witch Revive Tracker |
Seloria and the Witches
The Descendants of Darkness lore names Seloria, the Witchmother as one of three born of the Abyss. She stole the language of gods and wove it together with the whispers of the Void, creating the first Witches.
That lore establishes Witches as heirs to arcane knowledge and the power to bind souls through magic. Witch Resurrection expresses that identity in gameplay by calling dead mortals back toward life.
Witch identity and role
Witches are Energy-based practitioners of magic. They can fight other players, confront Abominations, advance through the common age-based combat system, and interact with regular humans through Resurrection.
Witch Resurrection is a process rather than an instant revival. A dead human must first become eligible, progress must then be built to 100%, and the completed spell schedules a later return.
Energy and combat
Witches use Energy rather than Blood. A Self Scan or public player scan shows current and maximum Energy; maximum capacity, combat strength, attack range, and scanning range develop through the age groups. See the Self-Scan guide for the fields shown by the HUD.
Witch attacks use magic as their species identity. Damage and attack rate remain consistent with other species in the same age group; see Species-Specific Attacks and Combat for the shared rules.
Making real Witch Resurrection progress can restore Witch Energy.
Interactions with regular humans
A regular human is not a registered player. Humans have their own blood level and can be examined with the HUD's Human Scan.
Witch Resurrection works only on an eligible dead regular human. It cannot be used on:
- Living humans
- Registered players
- Abominations
Witch Resurrection
Witch Resurrection has two separate 21-day periods: an eligibility wait after death and a scheduled-revival wait after Resurrection reaches 100%.
Full timeline
| Stage | What happens | Scan wording |
|---|---|---|
| Death | A regular human dies. The initial 21-day eligibility wait begins. | Revivable in |
| Eligible | After the first 21 days, a Witch can build Resurrection Progress. | Resurrection progress/state |
| 100% complete | Resurrection is scheduled and the completing Witch is credited. The human remains dead while the second 21-day period begins. | Revive in |
| Return | When the scheduled period ends, the human returns with 1.0 litre of blood. | Living-human information |
The earliest normal return is therefore roughly 42 days after death when a Witch completes Resurrection as soon as the initial 21-day wait ends. If no Witch completes it immediately, the total time is longer.
Initial 21-day cooldown
For the first 21 days after a regular human is killed, Witch Resurrection cannot begin. Scans describe this wait using Revivable in. When the countdown ends, the dead human becomes eligible for Resurrection progress.
Building Resurrection Progress
Once the human is eligible, a Witch can begin building Resurrection Progress. Each successful use that makes real progress moves the spell closer to 100%, can restore Witch Energy, and refreshes the unfinished spell's activity window.
Unfinished Resurrection progress expires after 7 days without further progress. A later attempt must begin the progress again if the partial spell has expired.
Completion and scheduled revival
Reaching 100% does not immediately revive the human. Instead:
- Resurrection is scheduled.
- The Witch who completes the progress is recorded and credited.
- The completion contributes to the Witch Resurrections statistic.
- A second 21-day period begins before the human returns.
During this scheduled period, scans use Revive in to show the remaining time. If Resurrection is already scheduled, another attempt reports that it is already scheduled rather than beginning another revival.
When the scheduled revival completes, the regular human returns with 1.0 litre of blood.
Witch Revive Tracker
The Witch Revive Tracker is a private, login-required Witch page. It can show:
- Mortals currently being revived
- The time remaining before each return
- The player who originally killed the mortal
- Mortals recently restored to life
The tracker is available to Witches; non-Witches do not receive Witch revival records.
Witches, Hunters, and human death
Hunter Protection and Witch Resurrection can affect the same regular human at different stages:
- A Hunter protects a living human.
- Another player kills that human while the Protection is active.
- After the initial Resurrection wait, a Witch may build progress and schedule the human's return.
- The Hunter's private Protected by Me view may show the Witch revival status.
Witch Resurrection does not replace Hunter Protection. Protection applies while a regular human is alive; Resurrection applies after an eligible regular human is dead.
Witches and Abominations
Witch Resurrection does not work on Abominations. Abominations have their own combat, reward, scanning, and return behaviours; see Abominations rather than treating them as ordinary Resurrection targets.
Statistics and scanning
Witch-related information appears across the HUD and website:
- Self and public player scans use Energy for Witches and may identify their current species and Coven affiliation.
- Human scans can expose Resurrection progress and state.
- During the initial wait, scans use Revivable in.
- After completion, scans use Revive in and may identify the Witch responsible.
- Player profiles can display Witch Resurrections.
- The Witch Resurrections leaderboard ranks completed Resurrections (login required).
- The private Witch Revive Tracker shows current and recent revivals.
For scanning ranges, public and private scan fields, and human status information, see the Scan Others guide.
Hierarchy and changing species
Witches take part in the game's wider lineage and organisational systems. See Player Hierarchy for the current hierarchy guide and Species Change for the in-world device used to change species.
Species choice affects your resource, combat identity, human ability, affiliation type, and roleplay. Review the cost and current restrictions before changing.
Rules
The Dark Oath applies to Witches as it does to every player. In particular, scans and system information are protected by the Masquerade and must not be disclosed to non-players.
