The Witch King is an incorporeal manifestation of magic. He can Move and do other activities, but without magic he does not even have a Move chit to allow him to carry items (so he can carry only items of Negligible weight). With magic, however, he is masterful.

He controls the powerful Elemental, Demonic and Conjuring spells (Types IV, V, and VI), which give him a great deal of choice in how he will play the game. His best choice of spells at the start of the game depends on his Victory Requirements and strategy, but usually he needs some kind of spell to move, some kind of spell to attack, and some kind of spell to protect him in combat.

Chits

Stats

Weight/Vulnerability: Light

Spells: Four Spells (Type IV, Type V or Type VI)

Starting Gold Value: 10

Special: Disembodied (use Magic Sight), Aura of Power (extra Enchant phase)

Start: Inn, Ghosts

Ally: Bashkars

Friendly: Company

Unfriendly: Lancers

Enemy: Order

Strategy

The Witch King can make Purple and Black magic with his chits. All Type IV spells are Purple; all type V spells except Curse are Black. All Type VI spells are Purple, except for World Fades, which is Black.

Select Broomstick (V, Black), Fiery Blast (IV, Purple), Absorb Essence (V, Black), Unleash Power (VI, Purple). Start with V3* and V4* enchanted to Black and both IV4* chits enchanted to Purple. Take VPs in Fame, Notoriety and Spells. Of the treasure sites, only the Shrine has spells that the Witch King can use, so to gain spells he must get them from Artifacts and Spell Books (with Magic Sight, there is no chance to get a Curse), which means that he's going to get Treasures as well. Unleash Power may give him the carrying capacity to sell those he does not want to use. The Book of Lore, the Black Book and the Scroll of Alchemy are the spell books he wants, and the Enchanter's Skull, Blasted Jewel and Hidden Ring are the artifacts. He is not able to use the Reading Runes table unless he has the World Fades spell active. It requires a 1 or a 4 on the Magic Sight table to perceive a spell (22.22% chance with each roll) and there is no chance of a Curse. This is the same chance as Locating a site chit. Using Word Fades and the Reading runes table, there is a 25% chance of learning the spell, and a 25% chance of getting a Curse. The chance of getting the spell is similar, but the risk is much lower when using Magic Sight.

Absorb Essence is usually the key to the Witch King's strategy. Absorb a tough enough monster and you can kick ass all over the map. Even without this spell, there are some good options. If he uses Magic Sight to try and loot a location, even though there is only a 16.67% chance of gaining a treasure card, it will be the treasure on the top of the pile, which is usually at least a large treasure. It would probably be worth taking World Fades (a permanent spell) in this case, to get access to those other search tables (when Looting an untouched Horde, for example, when there is a guarantee of getting a treasure on the Loot table, but only a 16.67% chance when using Magic Sight.

Fiery Blast is a good option regardless of your strategy. Fiery Blast, Absorb Essence, Unleash Power and World Fades are a good choice to start with. You don't get the mobility of Broomstick, but perhaps it is worth it. World Fades is a permanent spell, which means it only needs to be energised with Black to be active. If you put VCs in Treasures, take World Fades as well. Just don't run out of Black magic. You don't want to be caught in combat without being able to energise your Absorb Essence spell.

Sources of spells: Book of Lore, Black Book , Scroll of Alchemy, Enchanter's Skull, Blasted Jewel, Hidden Ring, Shrine, Warlock neutral.

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