That's an interesting tack on the matter, one I really should have put more thought into. Of course one reason I was positing the 1700s is that time's both past the age of the witch trials, is into the "age of reason", and is pre-Victorian. So it's easier to posit less of an "Agent of Satan", and more of a "publicly dismiss, privately utilize" response. I also can't help but think that if the powers had obvious utility in warcraft, that would tend to result in more allowance for their use, even in spite of church pressure.

Also, I can't help but recall that one type of "magical" practitioners had limited tolerance: all the alchemists and such that promised gold or longevity. OF course I speculate that the preponderance of male alchemists not only fit in with the nobilities greed, but with the notion of the male intellect.