SimGuruBrit has shared his blog with us on two of the most intriguing characters of The Sims 3 Supernatural - Witches and Vampires!

By now you’ve gotten the scoop on werewolves from SimGuruJon, frolicked with fairies and SimGuruArgus, and explored lunacy with SimGuruMegan. Today I’m here to tell you about the ‘real’ power that’s in The Sims 3 Supernatural… witches! From the day we started brainstorming ideas for this expansion pack, I was completely in love with witches and all the possibilities they could introduce to The Sims. To me, playing as a witch offers the ultimate power of choice, “A am I good, evil, or just indifferent? Do I use my spells just to help my family and friends, or do I let my magic run crazy and turn everyone in town to toads?” Mwahahahaha, just talking about it makes me want to rub my hands together in evil glee…

Speaking of evil glee, I know you’re all wondering exactly what being a good witch vs. a bad witch really means. First and foremost are the traits. Witches with the good trait will get more wishes to cast spells that are considered ‘good’ and the same goes for witches with the evil trait, they will get more wishes to cast spells that are ‘evil’. However, being good or evil doesn’t mean you only have access to one certain type of spell. After all, even the friendliest of witches may need to throw a curse every now and then!

Just like the other supernaturals, you can create witches in CAS. Male, female, green skin or golden, you’ll be able to customize your witch to fit the story you want to tell. Witches come in all ages, and some innate witch abilities can even be present in childhood. Hint, keep an eye on your little witch’s toy box as they’re playing, or they just may magically multiply! However, the teenage years are when a witch’s powers really manifest. This is the time when they receive a wand to play with magic.

Wand, wand, it’s all about the wand! Witches need a magical wand in their inventory to channel their special powers. Every witch is given a basic wand, but if your Sim loses it or wants to upgrade it, there are several options available in Buy Mode to purchase. There are numerous wands to choose from and while each one has a distinctive cool look, they more importantly have unique affects to the way your witch will cast spells. If you’re looking for your witch to have a high success rate at casting spells, I’d recommend giving the ivory wand a try.

 But if you’re asking, “SimGuruBritt, I don’t want my witch to rely on a wand! I want them to be able to cast spells without that pointy thing in the way!” Don’t worry, we have you covered. The Lifetime Happiness reward Magic Hands enables your witch to cast spells only using their hands, plus their spells will never fail!

Enough about wands, let’s get into the actual spell casting! Witches will become increasingly proficient and learn more magic spells and abilities as they play with magic and cast spells. For instance, witches can learn how to use their wands to upgrade objects around the house – no more wrenches required! Quick tip, my advice would be to magically upgrade your wardrobe for a special surprise. You will get a message when your witch has learned new spells and abilities with hints for how to use them. Magic spells generally fit into one of three categories (with a few exceptions): Charms, curses and rituals. Charms are considered beneficial or ‘good’ spells. They can be cast on oneself or on others and range from simple good luck charms to love charms. Curses are harmful or ‘evil’ spells such as the bladder curse (super funny at parties!) or toadification curse. Rituals are spells that can be cast on objects or lots. They have a wide array of effects from converting collectibles to cleaning the house. 

I don’t want to give everything away. (Where’s the fun in that?!) But since so many people have asked about specific spells, I think a quick overview of a few of my personal favorites is in order.

One of the first spells a witch learns is the conversion ritual, which changes a collectible from one type to another.  The conversion ritual is a pretty useful spell, especially if there is an alchemist in the family. If you have a surplus of gems laying around, simply flick your witches wand and transform them into something useful for your alchemist. 

Ice Blast is one of those spells that doesn’t really fall under the category of charm or curse (since it is more of an elemental spell), but is super fun to use. Want to break your neighbor’s plumbing? Ice Blast! Want to give a Sim a severe case of chattering teeth and cold toes? Ice Blast! As a bonus, this spell has a chance of encasing a Sim in a solid block of ice, freezing them for a short time.

Sometimes spells can be fun, sometimes they can be useful, and sometimes they can be dark and dangerous. The haunting curse is definitely one of those dark and dangerous spells since your witch can summon a spirit from the netherworld to haunt a victim for days. Once cursed, the only way out for the victim is to wait for time to pass or to become friends with their ghostly tormentor. Be warned, cast this curse with caution! All spells can fail (sometimes with disastrous results for the caster), and the haunting curse does this in the most extreme way. If it fails, it could mean death for the witch that cast it!

I’ll leave you with just one more, the reanimation ritual. Cast this spell on any tombstone with a ghost and watch the dead rise as a gruesome zombie! Better have an exit strategy planned after casting this spell though as zombies make friends in interesting ways…

Like all great power, magic comes with a cost. Witches have to keep an eye on their magic meter as they use their spells and abilities. The lower the magic meter falls, the higher the possibility that a spell will fail. Once the magic meter is depleted, spells will fizzle and fail until the meter has been replenished. Magic power will slowly regenerate over time, or can be instantly replenished with an Essence of Magic elixir. Another, more leisurely way to regenerate magic power is to take a few loops around the magic broom arena on your broom.

Brooms! (You thought I forgot, didn’t you?) Here’s a secret, anyone can use a broom! Since the magic is in the broom, not in the user, even ordinary Sims can get a taste of magic by flying around town on one of these flying objects. Brooms come in several models. There’s even one with training wheels for the kiddies! For those daring Sims who think merely traveling around town by broom isn’t enough, the broom arena is a place to fly high and show-off your witches stunts. Can’t afford to buy one of these arenas for your house? No problem! The citizens of Moonlight Falls have recognized every Sim’s right to practice broom stunts, and built their very own broom arena park for any Sim to use. Any Sim can buy and use a broom, but witches will use brooms automatically when traveling solo, just like a taxi.