6000 in-depth character profiles from comics, games, movies

Prue Halliwell (Shannen Doherty in Charmed)

Prudence “Prue” Halliwell

Power Level:
Game system: DC Heroes Role-Playing Game


Charmed was one of the more successful 1990s TV serials about the supernatural. It ran for a robust 8 seasons (no movie, though it spawned a number of novels and comic books) and acquired a large and dedicated following.

It chronicles the struggles, both mundane and magical, of 3 sisters who discover that they are witches with powerful magic powers and a shared destiny. Known as the Charmed Ones, the Halliwell sisters are further armed with the powerful Book of Shadows, their ancestral grimoire.

The show’s main hooks were a mostly female cast – and the ability to mix genres from light horror to urban fantasy to soap opera. Though it occasionally veered into camp or even “jiggle TV”, at its heart the show was about family and the bond between the sisters.


Our current Charmed profiles are solely based on the first season of the TV show (1998-1999), and come with S P O I L E R S. There are also small, indirect spoilers for later seasons.

Writeups.org’s Charmed profiles are dedicated to the memory of Phyllis “Figgy” Ann Flannery Kyle, killed by a drunk driver on Jan 18th, 2008. Charmed was her favorite show.


  • Real Name: Prudence Halliwell.
  • Marital Status: Single.
  • Known Relatives (Partial List — not including relatives whose existence is unknown in Season 1): Piper Halliwell (sister), Phoebe Halliwell (sister), Victor Bennet (father), Patricia “Patty” Halliwell (mother, deceased), Penelope “Penny” Halliwell (grandmother, deceased), Melinda Warren (great, great, great, great, great, great-grandmother, deceased progenitor of the line of Warren witches), Prudence Warren (Melinda’s daughter, deceased), and assorted other Halliwell/Warren/etc. foremothers (see the Charmed Wiki for a complete listing).
  • Group Affiliation: The Charmed Ones.
  • Base Of Operations: Halliwell Manor, San Francisco CA, USA.
  • Height: 5’3” Weight: 110 lbs.
  • Eyes: Green Hair: Dark Brown Age: 27 (At the beginning of season one; she turns 28 in episode 4, “Dead Man Dating”. Her birthdate is August 28, 1970.).
  • Other distinguishing features: Prue has a small brown mole on the right side of her face near her nose.


Powers and Abilities

Prue Halliwell is inherently magical, descended from a line of magical witches (somewhat like the DCU’s Homo Magi or the Marvel Universe’s New Salemites), as opposed to a normal, non-powered person who takes up the practice of witchcraft.

As a magical witch, she can cast ritual spells and brew magical potions and they actually work. She can also perceive most ghosts, and perhaps other magical creatures that are typically invisible to humans.

True witches in the Charmed Universe are also born with a unique power of their own (much like a mutant or metahuman). This special gift grows stronger over time and may even develop into additional powers. In the case of the Charmed Ones, each sister received one of the three powers practiced by Melinda Warren — to move objects with the mind, freeze time, and see the future.

Prue’s special gift is to move objects with her mind. This often manifests as a strong push or throw (in DC Heroes terms, Mental Blast). Prue uses it to knock attackers away, smashing them into walls and through furniture.

This power can be used to do damage directly (as when the power-mimicking warlock Matthew Tate copied Prue’s power to smash a window and to snap a man’s neck), but Prue is very rarely so ruthless.

Typically she uses Planned Knockback maneuvres, hurling opponents away. She also uses Take Away maneuvers, depriving an opponent of a gun.

She is generally the Charmed Ones’ first and most powerful line of defense. She gives them breathing room while her sister Piper freezes the downed attackers and the sisters cast a Ritual to vanquish them. According to the Book of Shadows, the eldest sibling in a family of witches is the most powerful, and Prue seems to bear that out.

While Prue most often shoves opponents with little finesse, she quickly learns fine control, too, including the ability to open locks and untie ropes (Telekinesis, Accuracy, Thief/Escape Artist, Locks & Safes).

In a very early episode she reflexively redirects spilled paint falling towards her. By the end of the first season, Prue’s mastered the ability to send attacks back at an opponent, even energy attacks (Reflection/Deflection).

Prue Halliwell (Shannen Doherty) working at her desk

Prue’s powers, like that of all witches in the Charmed universe, are tied to her emotions. Strong emotions can trigger stronger results. In Prue’s case, anger is her trigger emotion, and at times she uses her powers unintentionally when she’s mad. This is especially true when she’s first discovering her powers.

At this point Prue is a novice witch with little real occult knowledge. She hasn’t yet learned to create original spells or potions and can’t identify most magical creatures on her own.

However, she has access to the Book of Shadows, the Halliwells’ ancestral tome. Using the Book’s Occultist score in place of her own, she can cast a variety of spells. Most of them involve specific vanquishing spells for specific demons and warlocks.

Other known spells in the Book include a Truth spell, charms to summon an ancestor’s spirit, travel through time, exchange powers with another witch, multiply one’s strength (by creating duplicates of the character), etc.

In addition to her magical skills, Prue is highly charismatic, intelligent, perceptive, and well-educated. She’s an expert in art and art history, able to identify antiques, sculptures, paintings, anything from the Ming dynasty  to rookie baseball cards.

She’s also a skilled horseback rider. As a physical combatant, she’s mostly a normal person at this point, though she’s fit and has quick reflexes.

The Power of Three

Prue’s status as a Charmed One (three sisters prophesied to become the most powerful witches the world has ever seen) is reflected in her unusually strong personal powers and, in DC heroes terms, in her Power Reserve.

Prue’s Power Reserve enhances the Effect of a spell cast by Ritual Magic. Note that it is the final Effect that is enhanced, NOT Prue’s Ritual Magic score. Prue can fail in casting a spell like any normal witch. When she succeeds, though, her Ritual spells are abnormally powerful, more effective than those of another, non-Charmed witch.

Prue can freely use 1 AP of Power Reserve to enhance the Effects of any Ritual she casts. But she is strongest when working in conjunction with her sisters, using the Power of Three. She can only access both APs of her Power Reserve when the three Charmed Ones Team Attack a Ritual.

Since her sisters likewise possess this conditional Power Reserve, their combined magic allows them to cast spells of tremendous power.

The Price of Magic

In the Charmed Universe, as in the DCU, magic has its price. In this case, good witches like the Charmed Ones have four Subplots constantly hanging over their heads.

First, warlocks and demons are constantly out to kill witches and steal their powers. As a result, Prue and her sisters are subject to attack at any time, any place, without warning.

They are also sworn to defend the innocent (typically defending them *from* the warlocks and demons), and are liable to encounter people in trouble unusually frequently. There is a strong element of “destiny” or “fate” in the series, with the Charmed Ones encountering people they are “meant” to help.

Being both a target for evil and a defender of the innocent, the Charmed Ones encounter trouble about as often as if they lived on a Hellmouth (or as if they were super-heroes).

Third, good witches are sworn not to use their powers for personal gain, a witchly variation on the DCU’s Magician’s Code. Breaking this rule will always lead to unforeseen consequences which the GM should inflict as appropriate. Generally, they are related to the spell or power used.

For instance, casting a spell to attract true love might summon dozens of potential suitors, all fighting over the witch. A spell to cure a loved one of disease might just shift that disease to an innocent, or to many innocents.

Depending on the degree of personal gain (and the mood of the GM), the consequences may be dire. They will often also be embarrassing, inconvenient, and sometimes silly (almost as if the characters are on a sitcom…).

Finally, witches work to conceal their identities and the existence of magic. In the first season this mostly functions as a garden-variety Secret Identity. As time goes on, it gets closer to being a Dark Secret.


A cut of key scenes in the first season of Charmed, made as a recap.


Prudence “Prue” Halliwell is the eldest daughter of Patricia “Patty” Halliwell and Victor Bennet. The couple had two other daughters, Piper and Phoebe. Patty and Victor split up when the girls were young, and shortly thereafter Patty was killed.

The trio was raised by their maternal grandmother, Penelope “Penny” Halliwell (“Grams”), in the family’s Victorian manor in San Francisco. 

Family Circus


Melinda said that each generation of Warren witches would grow more powerful, culminating in the eventual arrival of the Charmed Ones.

These would be 3 sisters, each possessed of one of Melinda’s powers, sisters who would become the most powerful witches the world had ever seen. Together they would wield the Power of Three, defend the innocent and vanquish many terrible evils.

Over time the family name changed to include Russells, Bowens, Halliwells, and others, but the line of Warren witches thrived. Each generation added new knowledge and spells to their Book of Shadows, so that eventually it became coveted by evil forces as one of the most magical of all tomes.

Much of the book consisted of vanquishing spells designed to destroy specific demons and warlocks. Many of these spells required the Power of Three, and thus could not be used by the Warren witches who devised them. They were a trust passed down to future generations, ensuring the Charmed Ones would be well armed to fulfill Melinda’s prophecy.

By the early 20th century the family had migrated to San Francisco and moved into a Victorian manor built atop a nexus of spiritual energy. By moving there, the family claimed the power of the Nexus for the forces of good, yet another way of preparing for the Charmed Ones. Prue, Piper, and Phoebe were destined to fulfill this long-awaited destiny.

The Wonder Years

However, when Prue and her sisters were still young (Phoebe was actually in utero), a warlock named Nicholas attacked their mother. Patty struck a bargain with Nicholas to prevent him from immediately killing her and then going after her children. She gave Nicholas immunity to her daughters’ powers, gambling that she and Penny could protect the girls until they found a way to beat Nicholas.

To ensure that he didn’t immediately kill the girls and claim their magic, Penny and Patty decided to strip Prue, Piper, and Phoebe’s powers. Prue and Piper forgot ever having been witches, hinting that Penny may have also blocked their memory.

Certainly, from this point on, Penny and Patty actively concealed the existence of magic from the girls. Possibly they didn’t want the girls to know about magic because they might have wanted their powers back before they were ready.

Penny and Patty didn’t find an immediate way to stop Nicholas, though, and the girls’ powers stayed blocked indefinitely. Nicholas kept his distance, no doubt to avoid confrontation with Patty and Penny, keeping an eye on the family to watch for signs that the trio had regained their powers.

The Halliwell sisters dressing up

This didn’t prevent other warlocks and demons from targeting the family, or release Patty and Penny from their own obligations to protect the innocent. Victor wanted the entire family to renounce magic and live normal (safer) lives, and it was this long-standing argument that strained Patty and Victor’s marriage.

In 1978, Patty was killed battling a water demon, leaving Penny (“Grams”) to raise the girls alone. Unknown to the sisters, their father also wanted to raise them, but Grams wouldn’t allow it. He was a mortal and couldn’t, in her view, raise or protect the Charmed Ones.

Prue was only 7 years old when her mom died and her father disappeared from her life. As the eldest, she became very protective of her sisters. She forced herself to grow up fast, giving up much of her own childhood to take care of Piper and Phoebe. She matured into a focused, responsible, dedicated young woman, but one who could be hard on herself and on her sisters.

By the time she reached her late 20s, Prue had graduated from college and begun to gain a reputation as an antiquities expert working in the San Francisco Museum of Natural History. She also got engaged to her boss, Roger. For a time she and Piper shared an apartment and lived on their own, but they moved back in with Penny and Phoebe as Penny’s health deteriorated.

Grams died in April of 1998, leaving the sisters still ignorant of their destiny. Prue and Piper stayed in the Halliwell manor to keep the property in the family. But with Grams no longer there, long-simmering conflicts between Phoebe and Prue came out into the open. Phoebe decided to move to New York, in part to look for their long-lost father.

Prue felt abandoned by him and was against any attempt to renew contact. She also felt Phoebe was irresponsible and unfocused. Phoebe felt Prue was overbearing and hyper-critical, more like an overprotective parent than a supportive sister.

Prue also believed that Phoebe had come onto Roger, when actually it was the other way around. Prue had broken off her engagement, but still harbored resentment toward Phoebe.

Charmed, Year One

About 6 months after Grams’ death, Phoebe moved back into the manor, broke, unemployed, and at loose ends. Things between Prue and Phoebe remained tense, and Piper was caught in the middle. In the midst of this family drama, Phoebe discovered the Book of Shadows in the attic, learning the family’s true history for the first time.

She recited a spell she found in it to call for their powers, and as Grams’ power block had died with her, the spell worked. Phoebe gained the power to see visions of the future, Piper could freeze time, and Prue was now able to move objects with her mind.

All the sisters were shocked, and while Phoebe was excited, Piper was mostly scared and Prue mostly angry. The sisters were forced to come together however, to fight off Piper’s boyfriend Jeremy. He was secretly a warlock who had been biding his time.

When the sisters gained their powers he tried to kill them and claim their powers for himself. Working together, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe tapped into the Power of Three and vanquished Jeremy.

Over the next year, the three sisters tried to balance their new lives as witches, individuals, and sisters. As witches, the trio faced and defeated a number of magical threats, saving themselves and innocent bystanders on many occasions.

The situation forced the three to work together, inevitably bringing them closer together as sisters and teaching them to rely on each other.

The Ties That Bind

Those family ties were strengthened further when they met their ancestor Melinda Warren. The sisters used a spell in the Book of Shadows to summon her from the past so she could help them against her old nemesis, a powerful warlock named Matthew Tate. Magic even gave them the chance to see Patty and Penny again.

Prue defeated Barbas, the Demon of Fear, with the help of a visit from her mother’s spirit. And when Nicholas discovered the Charmed Ones had finally accessed their magic, he attacked.

The 3 sisters used a time travel spell to go back to the 1970s for help and information. The adult Halliwell sisters were able to work together with their mother and grandmother, and even their own past selves, ultimately defeating Nicholas while reaffirming their family bond.

The girls’ father, Victor, reappeared in their lives very soon after the sisters obtained their powers. He hoped to take, even steal, the Book of Shadows, and thereby force his daughters to live safe, normal lives.

While Piper and especially Phoebe were excited to see Victor, Prue met his return with anger and suspicion. But Victor did help the girls protect the Book of Shadows against a trio of demonic shapeshifters, and in the process saw that they were capable of taking care of themselves.

By the end of the incident, even Prue had warmed some to Victor. Then he unexpectedly left town again, disappearing once more.

Secrets and Guys

Prue’s professional life was also in transition. At the same time she found out she was a witch, she discovered Roger was taking credit for her work on a major new exhibit at the museum. She quit, and despite Roger blacklisting her around town, got a new job as an appraiser at Buckland’s Auction House.

Though she was very good at it, the job at best was stressful and time-consuming. At worst, it was nearly deadly. Her bosses, Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster, turned out to be warlocks who suspected her real identity.

Working on behalf of an unknown entity, they worked very hard to unmask Prue and her sisters, take their powers, and destroy them. Rex and Hannah backed several demons and warlocks who threatened the sisters.

Meanwhile Prue had reconnected with Andy Trudeau, her high-school boyfriend, now an Inspector with the San Francisco PD. Though the two were strongly drawn to each other and began dating again, Prue wasn’t sure how to be in a relationship while concealing the huge secret of her witchcraft.

It didn’t help that Andy kept encountering Prue and her sisters in suspicious circumstances. Jeremy, the first warlock vanquished by the Charmed Ones, had murdered several other witches in the weeks prior to his attack on the Halliwells. Andy was the lead investigator in that case, and suspected occult involvement.

Nothing But the Truth

Over the next several months, Prue and her sisters showed up at the scene of several mysterious disappearances or grisly murders, with no explanation that they could share with Andy. Prue eventually resorted to casting a Truth spell, one that would allow her to tell her secret and be sure of his honest reaction, and then wipe his memory.

Under the spell’s influence, Andy told her honestly that he didn’t think he could handle her secret, though he only had minutes to process the information before the mindwipe took effect.

Still, Prue broke up with Andy, fearing that she couldn’t confide in him and afraid he’d learn the secret on his own if they stayed together. Since she couldn’t explain to him why they were breaking up, this simply made Andy more sure that Prue and her sisters were hiding things from him.

He began to dig into their secrets in earnest, adding to the Charmed Ones’ already complicated lives.

The Halliwell sisters from Charmed

As the year wore on, Rex and Hannah made their move, framing Prue for theft and getting video footage of the sisters using their powers. Rex threatened to expose the sisters unless they voluntarily surrendered their powers to him, which they did. Rex and Hannah were about to kill them when semi-divine intervention restored the sisters’ powers.

The sisters would not learn for some time that they had been saved by Leo Wyatt, a man they thought was a simple handyman and Piper’s love interest. Leo was a Whitelighter, a sort of guardian angel for witches, who had been sent to secretly protect and guide the Charmed Ones.

The Charmed Ones had been saved mysteriously, and they witnessed Rex and Hannah likewise being mysteriously vanquished by an unknown demonic power in punishment for their failure. It became clear that the sisters still had much more to learn about the forces, good and evil, meddling with their lives.

Seeing the Light

Andy eventually caught Prue in action, as he and the sisters were both investigating a missing boy’s disappearance. The boy had been kidnapped by demons called Grimlocks, and Prue was forced to reveal her powers to save Andy from them.

Andy still had trouble accepting Prue’s powers and their personal relationship remained somewhat uncertain, as he wanted the normal life Prue could never have. But now that Andy knew the sisters’ secret, and that they were a force for good, he began to work with them and to help protect their secret.

Some time later Leo returned, and was forced to reveal his true nature when he was wounded and poisoned by a Darklighter, a demonic counterpart to Whitelighters. The sisters managed to save Leo’s life, protect another of his charges (a future Whitelighter named Daisy), and vanquish the Darklighter Alec.

This left Piper to try and work out a relationship with Leo while Prue was still trying to work out her relationship with Andy. For the first time all parties involved knew each other’s true identities.

Unfortunately, the true identities of the Halliwells had also been revealed to others. Someone or something had noticed that demons and warlocks in the San Francisco area were suddenly being destroyed at an alarming rate.

Though Rex and Hannah had failed to defeat the sisters, they had passed on their suspicions that the Halliwell sisters were secretly the Charmed Ones, and the shadowy hierarchy of the Underworld sent new demons to investigate.

One of these new demons took a cover identity as Inspector Rodriguez, working for internal affairs in the SFPD. Knowing there was a connection between Andy and the sisters, he pressured Andy to reveal the truth about his unsolved cases.

Andy chose to be suspended rather than betray the sisters. Rodriguez nevertheless managed to confirm his suspicions about the sisters by magically eavesdropping on Andy.

Time Loop

With the Charmed Ones’ identities finally confirmed, a being called “The Source” sent reinforcements in the form of a demonic dignitary named Tempus. Tempus aided Rodriguez by creating a time loop that would ensure he survived any failed confrontation with the Charmed Ones.

The day of the time loop began with Phoebe having a vision of Andy, at the manor, killed by a demon. The sisters began trying to identify the new threat. Meanwhile Rodriguez met with Andy, revealed he knew the Halliwells were witches, and demanded Andy set up a meeting with them. Prue and Andy guessed that Rodriguez might be the demon Phoebe foresaw and that the meeting was a trap.

Prue ordered Andy to stay away from the manor so that he wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire. When he refused, saying he would stand by them, Prue threatened to use magic against him if that were what it took to keep him safe. Reluctantly, he agreed to stay away. Telling Andy that she cared for him, Prue went home to plan with Piper and Phoebe.

When Rodriguez arrived at the manor, Andy was parked outside keeping watch, but kept his word not to intervene. The sisters thought themselves prepared for a trap, but Rodriguez’s attack was more sudden and vicious than anticipated, and his first strike killed Phoebe. Piper and Prue then managed to vanquish him.

Andy was saved but Phoebe was dead and the Power of Three potentially broken. However, Rodriguez’s death triggered the time loop Tempus had set up. The day was reset, with only Tempus and Rodriguez remembering what had happened. This allowed Rodriguez a chance to learn from his mistakes and be more effective in his next attempt.

Time Loop

But Phoebe’s powers made her sensitive to the time loop, and she began to figure out that everything they were experiencing had happened before. This allowed the sisters to figure out the trap a little faster and be a little better prepared. It also led to a longer conversation between Andy and Prue, one where Prue told Andy how much she still loved him. 

Despite their preparations, in the second attack, Rodriguez successfully killed both Phoebe and Piper. Prue vanquished him, saving Andy again, but this time two of the sisters were dead. Tempus once more reset time, and Rodriguez planned to attack again.

But this time Phoebe figured things out even faster, and Prue and Andy had an even deeper conversation, in which they each declared their love to the other.

So on the third repetition of the day, both Andy and Rodriguez behaved differently. Rodriguez, increasingly frustrated by his “deaths”, was angrier and more obviously violent and dangerous throughout the day. Andy, fresh from hearing Prue declare her love and declaring his in return, became even more protective.

This time, when Rodriguez attacked, Andy rushed in after him. His bullets didn’t harm the demon, who killed him with a vicious energy ball. But his diversion kept the sisters alive and allowed them time to capture Rodriguez without any of them being killed, though Prue was knocked unconscious.

While unconscious, Prue encountered Andy’s spirit. He lovingly told her that it was his destiny to die for them so they could continue to protect the innocent. Upon awaking, Prue kept her sisters from vanquishing Rodriguez and restarting the time loop, even though that was the only thing that could possibly save Andy. Instead she ensured that his sacrifice was not in vain.

Casting a spell to accelerate time, the sisters broke the time loop, defeating Tempus and shattering his power. Prue then let Rodriguez go, as Andy’s spirit had encouraged her not to seek revenge, noting that she was a good person and not a murderer.

Rodriguez foolishly attacked again anyway. Prue implacably reflected his own attack back at him, and Andy was avenged. At year’s end, the sisters were safe. But Andy was dead and the mysterious Source was still a looming threat.

Charmed, Year Two



Prue is a fit and attractive woman. Petite, she has green eyes and dark shoulder-length hair. Generally her hair is styled to frame her face. If relaxing at home, she may wear pig-tails, along with the occasional t-shirt and jeans.

When leaving home, Prue is likely to follow trends and wear stylish, fashionable clothing of good quality. She usually wears high heels. For her work she always dresses professionally with a variety of power suits.

Otherwise she often wears a one piece dress or a sleeveless shirt and skirt. Either outfit is often accented by a sweater or light overcoat. Prue usually wears a necklace, often a heart-shaped diamond on a thin gold chain, sometimes a silver cross.


In her clothes, choice of jobs, and her vehicles, Prue is fairly “high brow” with expensive, high quality tastes. On the other hand she loves a cheeseburger and fries and has a fondness for twizzlers. There is some indication that the girls were raised Catholic, but it doesn’t seem to be an important part of their lives.

Prue is practical, level-headed, confident, and competent at most tasks. She has a sharp mind, good instincts, tremendous drive, and great concentration. She values hard work, discipline, and achievement.

As the oldest Halliwell sister, Prue is fiercely protective of her younger sisters. She has a fiery temper and responds to loss with anger. This gives her the strength to deal with most challenges, and in a fight (verbal or magical) Prue is tough, fierce, and pulls no punches. She’s determined to be strong and protect her family.

Prue’s anger and determination sometimes leaves her cut off, though. She is likely to hold a grudge against those who hurt her, and in some ways her strength is a front, designed to spare herself hurt. After her mother died, Prue didn’t say “I love you” for many years.

It took a confrontation with the Demon of Fear and a ghostly visitation from her mother to make her face her fear of loss and stop distancing herself from Piper and Phoebe. She is still generally cautious and dislikes surprises, though she may become reckless either through overconfidence or through worry for her sisters.

Prue shows affection for her sisters in other ways. When one of her sisters is hurting, she is quick to give them a hug, and the sisters often walk arm in arm. Prue does get angry with Phoebe at times. Phoebe is much more of a free spirit than Prue, but Prue sees her as irresponsible.

Prue is a protective and sometimes judgmental older sister, with Phoebe trying to prove herself, and Piper mediating their disputes. But when they aren’t fighting about something, the sisters are very close. Since they became witches and have been forced to rely on each other in life-or-death situations, they have become much closer and learned greater mutual respect.

When working together, the sisters supposedly make decisions democratically, but Prue is definitely “first among equals” and in some ways the head of the household. If the sisters need to split up, she will go solo, letting Piper and Phoebe back each other up while she takes care of herself.

Prue often takes risks to insulate Piper and Phoebe from danger, and occasionally has trouble remembering that they need to work together.


Rex Buckland: “That was strange. Lucky you, huh ?”
Prue: “Yeah, I’m charmed all right.”

Prue: “Oh my God, you’re pregnant.”
Phoebe: “What ?!?”
Prue: “That’s why you came back from New York, isn’t it ?”
Phoebe: “No. But I shouldn’t be surprised that you would think that. After all, I am the irresponsible sister, the black sheep who always screws up, the dark cloud over the Halliwell household ?”
Prue: “Phoebe !”
Phoebe: “Ok, I’m not pregnant.”

Victor: “Fiery temper. I like that. It reminds me of someone that I know.”
Prue: “I’m nothing like you. I would never leave my responsibilities to my family.”

Victor: “Always in a hurry, Prue. You skipped crawling and went straight to walking.”
Prue: “Oh, we’re sharing memories. Well, I’ve got one of my own, your back walking out the door.”

Dream Sorcerer: “You really hurt me last night and not just my feelings.”
Prue: “Suffer.”

Piper: “Prue, don’t take this personally but sometimes you can be a bit judgmental.”
Prue: “Huh…that is so not true.” (Piper turns and stares at Prue. Prue blinks her eyes quickly) “…all right, so maybe it’s sometimes true.”

Phoebe: “What ?”
Prue: “I can worry about my little sister, can’t I ?”
Phoebe: “Don’t ever stop.”

“Seasons change. People don’t.”

“It’s over.”

“Look, I can’t explain it…I’m just following my instincts and they have never lead me wrong before, at least not when I’ve really listened to them.”

Prue: “I’m sorry, but some of us have a job.”
Phoebe: “And some of us have fun.”
Piper: “And some of us are having a really bad hair day.”

Prue: “I don’t know. Andy kept something from me, but the truth is, I keep something from him every day. And it’s not like I’ll ever be able to tell him about our secret, so what’s the point ?”
Phoebe: “We’re the Charmed Ones, Prue, not the doomed ones. We have lives like everyone else. Call him, go see him, do something ! Give to get. That is the secret of life, not our powers.”

(After vanquishing the demon who killed Andy): “We may not be murderers, but we’re no angels either.”

Misc. Universe History

The Charmed Ones are basically super-powered heroines with a magical “flavor”. They’d fit very well in a superhero RPG. Each season of Charmed often had overarching themes or plots, but also many “villain/freak of the week” episodes.

DCU Subplots dealing with Romance and Jobs are very common. The DCU magic system is also well suited to represent their abilities. Their individual powers are easily described as DCH Powers, and their ability to cast spells and brew potions are fairly compatible with the DCU Ritual Magic system.

Whitelighters would inhabit the Realm of the Just Dead. In later seasons the Charmed Ones encounter the Angel of Death and Angels of Destiny. These would obviously be manifestations of or servitors to the Endless.

In the Marvel Universe, the Halliwells and the other witches of San Francisco would be a collateral branch of the same witches that also produced New Salem, Agatha Harkness, Nicholas Scratch, and the Salem’s Seven. Rather than going into hiding in New Salem, they chose to mix with mortal society and try to live “normal lives”.

Both the Scarlet Witch and the Salem’s Seven are reminiscent of the Charmed Ones, possessing a superpower plus having access to some occult knowledge and spellcasting ability. Salem’s Seven vs. the Power of Three would be a fun adventure.

Similarly, in the DCU, the Halliwells and other magical witches would be Homo Magi, descendants of collateral branches of that race that did not go to another dimension like Zatanna’s people did, but went into hiding in the mortal world.

They’d encounter the DCU’s mystical community, and show up in crowd scenes during universe wide crises (as in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12), meeting with the other mystics to pool their powers to help the super-heroes.

The main barrier to incorporating the Charmed Ones in a DCU, MU, or combined universe is the prophecy about them being the “most powerful witches the world has ever seen.” Perhaps the prophecy actually means “the most powerful witches from this particular coven/family/community in San Francisco”.

It might not apply to someone like Dr. Fate, who’s a Lord of Order, or to Dr. Strange, who’s not a witch but the sorcerer supreme. Zatanna likewise may be exempted on a technicality, as she’s a sorceress and not a witch.

Perhaps the simplest explanation is that the prophecy is flawed in interpretation. Melinda should have said they’d be the most powerful witches she’d ever seen. Melinda would simply be unaware of witchly rivals or superiors like Thessaly or Agatha Harkness.

However you get around the prophecy, the Charmed Ones at full strength would be significant magical forces in any universe. One of the sisters once made the Golden Gate Bridge vanish, so they’re no slouches even in universes that include the likes of Dr. Strange and Dr. Fate.

I could easily envision them battling Dr. Strange foes like Demonicus and Adria the Witch. Such foes would seek the Halliwell Book of Shadows (a prize in any universe) as a way to enhance their own powers before once again battling their old foe Dr. Strange.

They might also clash with someone like Tala as she attempted to seduce innocents and take their souls. A being like Klarion the Witch Boy would also make for a good Encounter.

As they are based in San Francisco, which is obviously Gateway City, they’d have encountered Wonder Woman and Etrigan/Jason Blood. Or you could replace or supplement these contacts with Daimon Hellstrom and Patsy Walker Hellstrom, who as Hellstorm and Hellcat were occult adventurers based in San Francisco.

San Francisco was also home for a time to Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman, so a crossover with Spider-Woman, Magnus, and Morgan Le Fey wouldn’t be out of the question.

As for Prue specifically, she might well have professional contacts with Wonder Girl’s mom, Helena Sandsmark (and in yet another universe, might have professional contacts with Joyce Summers).


Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG Print Friendly

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Prue Halliwell

Int: 06 Wil: 06 Min: 04 Occupation: Antiquities Expert
Init: 014 HP: 020

Interface (ML): 04, Mental Blast (ML): 06, Power Reserve (ML): 02, Reflection/Deflection (ML): 08, Speak with Spirits (ML): 01, Telekinesis (ML): 05

Bonuses and Limitations:

  • Interface, Reflection/Deflection, and Telekinesis are Derived from Mental Blast (-1 each).
  • Interface has Range (+1), and is probably Seriously Marginal (-2).
  • Mental Blast is almost always used for Planned Knockback attacks rather than direct damage. Using it for direct damage requires a 5 HP expenditure, as if the power were Minor Marginal (-1).
  • Mental Blast and Telekinesis are Indirect (+2) and invisible (+0).
  • Power Reserve represents “The Power of Three,” see below for details; in general it only enhances the Effects of Ritual Magic (-1).
  • Reflection/Deflection can be used at Range (+1).
  • Telekinesis may not be used for self-propulsion (-2).
  • Telekinesis can move liquids (+0 to +1 depending on House Rules).

Accuracy (Telekinesis, Mental Blast): 05, Animal Handling (Riding): 03, Artist (Photographer): 04, Charisma (Interrogation, Persuasion): 05, Detective (Counterfeit Recognition): 05, Occultist (Ritual Magic): 01, Scientist (Research): 04, Thief (Escape Artist, Locks & Safes): 06, Weaponry (Missile): 02, Vehicles (Land): 02

Bonuses and Limitations:

  • Detective (Counterfeit Recognition) only applies to detecting counterfeit art (-1).
  • Thief subskills are Powered (-1), and therefore need no tools (+1), are Ranged (+1), and Derived (-1) from Telekinesis.

Expansive Headquarters (Halliwell Manor), Expertise (art and art history, including recent popular culture, antiques, and antiquities), Language (Latin), Magic Background.

Piper (High), Phoebe (High), Inspector Andy Trudeau (San Francisco PD, High), Buckland’s Auction House (High).

Minor Physical Restriction (Prue wears reading glasses when at work; 0 points), Power Loss (If Prue time travels to a point where she already exists at another age, only the self native to that time period will possess her powers), Price of Magic (see below), SIA toward protecting her sisters, Secret Identity, Miscellaneous: Prue may not know how to swim, given her life-long fear of drowning mentioned above.


Other than the Book of Shadows (separate entry — note that Prue typically uses its Occultist Skill in place of her own, including roughly 8 APs of Ritual Magic), Prue’s only significant equipment is her car and cellphone.

  • PORSCHE 911 CARRERA 4S CABRIO CONVERTIBLE [BODY: 06, STR: 04, Running: 07, R#2, Cost: 52].
  • Late 1990’s style cell phone.

Previous Stats

For the first several months after becoming a witch, Prue focused her powers through her eyes. Late in the year (beginning in episode 19’s “Out of Sight”) Prue’s power grows and she begins to focus it consciously through hand gestures.

There are no game effects for this change except that, as noted, this coincides with an increase in her powers. Prior to this episode, Telekinesis was only 04 APs and Mental Blast was only 05 APs. 

Prue has a MIA to avoiding saying “I love you” when the season begins, as well as a SIF (drowning). She overcomes both of these through her encounter with Barbas, the Demon of Fear, in episode 13 (“From Fear to Eternity”).

Reflection/Deflection is Minor Marginal (costs 5 HPs) until the final episode of season 1 (“Déjà Vu All Over Again”).

Logically, Prue’s Accuracy with her powers probably takes an episode or two to develop, but it appears very quickly.

Design notes

The Book of Shadows will get its own entry and is not included here. For rough benchmarking purposes, consider it to have roughly 8 APs of Occultist (at least the sub-Skills Ritual Magic, Create Potions, and Occult Lore) and an Expertise in Demonology and witchcraft.

In episode 1 Something Wicca This Way Comes, Prue seemingly teleports creamer into her coffee. This ability to teleport a few ounces of liquid across a few inches is never shown again. This odd ability can be handled a few ways.

First, you could give her Teleportation: 00, with no +7 Range Bonus (-1), only usable on inanimate objects (-1), and note that the Power is Catastrophically Marginal (-3). Or you could simply ignore it, as a Power Trick based on Telekinesis, or even an error. It does, after all, appear in the pilot episode, when the rules of the character’s powers are still being defined.

It may even be rationalized as a budget decision for a new show. Perhaps the viewers saw the creamer seem to teleport, but “really” there was a tiny waterspout as cream flowed a few inches through the air from its container and into Prue’s coffee cup.

Speak with Spirits represents the ability to see and hear ghosts that normal people cannot, at least when the ghost wants to communicate. It doesn’t include any ability to summon spirits, only speak to ghosts who are already present and wish to talk. Some GMs and Players may prefer to represent this with True Sight (limited to seeing ghosts).

By Chris Cottingham & Ethan Roe.

Source of Character: Charmed (TV series); character portrayed by Shannen Maria Doherty.

Helper(s): William Chamberlin (marble statue help), the Charmed Wiki.

Writeup Completed on the 10th of June, 2012.

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