Witch Handbook

[Samurai]

That's more than a big drawback, that's utterly devastating, wow... That's just abominable! Anytime it dies or if you grab Improved Familiar, you instantly lose most of your known spells (on top of the insano gp cost) and have to acquire them all again till the next time your pet croaks? D&D combat is very vicious to pets and underlings. Even if the DM isn't a RBDM, and even if I was doing everything I could to make my familiar a non-combatant that just hangs around me, I'd be afraid of my familiar accidentally getting killed. I just...I'm speechless at how awful that is.

Yeah, it is really nasty, but a DM tends to have to target a pet, or hit you with some nasty AoE's. All familiars get 1/2 the caster's HP, and they get improved evasion. So they take 1/2 damage on a failed save, no damage on a successful save. They tend to be very small, so they get bonuses for that size against targeted attacks, and their AC scales. In the normal course of events, figuring average saves vs a fireball or the like, they should last about as well as their master (which isn't great, but...) In our party, we tend not to use them for relaying touch spells, or other dangerous duty, and the DM doesn't try to target them except for rare circumstances.

Also, there's a spell in the Ultimate Magic book, pg 233, Raise Animal Companion. It acts like Raise Dead, but only works on animal companions, familiars, or bonded mounts. It costs just 1000 gp of diamond dust instead of 5000 gp for Raise Dead, so it's a much better deal than summoning a new one and losing all those spells.

 

[Dingo333]

There is 1 big drawback that Witches suffer with the Improved Familiar feat that wizards and sorcerers don't... the familiar is their spellbook. If they lose their familiar, the new familiar only gets all Cantrips + 2 spells of each spell level the witch can cast. So if she can cast 4th level spells, the new familiar gets all 0 lvl, 2 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd, and 2 4th level spells (plus any bonuses from your Patron). All the other spells you learned or picked up in your travels have to be acquired again! That's a pretty major drawback if you have learned very many spells. (See the rules on pg 69 of the APG).

If a familiar is lost or dies, it can be replaced 1 day later through a special ritual that costs 500 gp per witch level. The ritual takes 8 hours to complete. A new familiar begins knowing all of the 0-level spells plus two spells of every level the witch is able to cast. These are in addition to any bonus spells known by the familiar based on the witch’s level and her patron (see patron spells)

I (and my DM) take that to mean you could actually have more spells (at a really high cost) when you replace a familiar
in essence, you would get +2 spells at each spell level, on top of what you had learned from level gaining.

Note that this is my DM's interpretation, and the rules may be the opposite if another DM disagrees

 

[Samurai]

I (and my DM) take that to mean you could actually have more spells (at a really high cost) when you replace a familiar
in essence, you would get +2 spells at each spell level, on top of what you had learned from level gaining.

Note that this is my DM's interpretation, and the rules may be the opposite if another DM disagrees

Hmmm, I can see how it might be interpreted that way... I had read it as only referring to the Patron bonus spells that you get at various levels, not the 2 spells learned at each level just for leveling. I think only the patron spells are called "bonus spells", not the level-based acquired spells. I wonder if there's an official clarification?

 

[Arbane]

It's great that you're doing a Witch guide, but I do have to disagree on a few things:

One important thing to note before we begin: unless it states otherwise, hexes do not provoke attacks of opportunity. Being specific to hexes, this overrides the more general rule of spell-like abilities provoking, so keep that in mind.

Hexes are (mostly) SUpernatural, not SPell-like. So, no Spell Resistance, and no AoOs.

Healing: If this continued scaling every 5 levels, I’d actually rate this green. As it is, it quickly becomes worthless for in combat healing and barely superior to a CLW wand for out of combat healing.

I'm sure it gets outpaced at higher levels, but what part of "One free cure light/medium wounds apiece for everyone!" sounds bad?

Misfortune: A save negates this hex. If you’re relying on the target to fail a save, just throw an actual save or lose at him to begin with. Still a decent choice, just disappointing.

I have to take exception to this rating - with Cackle, this becomes a fantastic save-or-suck power. It applies to pretty much ALL d20 rolls the victim makes. (And if your GM uses any sort of fumble rules, the hilarity never stops.)

Prehensile Hair: Has some utility use, but it’s very borderline between average and subpar. Assuming you can use it to strangle people with your pubic hair pushed it over the edge to green for me.

LOL. I'm pretty sure you can also use it to deliver touch-range spells with a 10' reach.

Slumber: THE #1 reason to be a Witch! Sleep pretty much at will, as a standard action, no SR, and ignores HD! It can’t get much more awesome than that.

It IS good (you left out "and the save scales as you level"), but it's mind-affecting, and it's single-target. Two potential downsides.

Ice Tomb: (SNIP) Seriously, this thing needs errata badly.

Until it's errata'ed, it seems like a pretty nice save-or-lose spell, and one that targets Fortitude, unlike most witch tricks.

Major Healing: This no longer cuts it for healing, at all.

See my comment on regular Healing.

Death Curse: Giving people heart attacks is just so stylish.

Yeah, but they get three saves against it.

[*]Dire Prophecy: There are much nastier things you can do to someone that fails a will save. Like giving him a heart attack.

Maybe, but not many cause them to suck until the GM or you say "Okay, you FAIL NOW." (No duration listed.)

[*]Forced Reincarnation: Too random to use well offensively. It is a hilarious way to “cure” someone’s cold, though.

It will leave an opponent worthless and lootable for one hour, then questionable. (And probably hopping mad.)

Interestingly, nothing in it says that you can't use it on yourself. That's one way to get around the aging rules...

Summon Spirit: I’m not a fan of the planar binding spells, and this carries an extra cost to it – the negative level.

The negative level's pretty brutal, but if you have some downtime and need a spell you don't know, summoning the ghost of a dead caster seems like a good way to get it.

Just not enough to really warrant Extra Hex feat or give you much in the way of difficult/interesting choices.

LIES! At least from levels 1 -10.

My witch has already grabbed Misfortune, Fortune, Cackle, Healing, Flight, Warding... and I'm only level 4. (Human, with Extra Hex Abuse.) I also want to get Evil Eye, Slumber, Prehensile Hair, maybe Water Lung or Tongues... I'm not really worried about running out of Hexes I want.

The "witches are bad" vibe seems to have gotten way too much of an emphasis in the class design, at least a third of the hexes seem like they were designed for the villain of the week.

This I have to agree with. Too much Baba Yaga, not enough Glinda.

 

[Systole]

Major Healing is definite suck because by the time it's accessible, there's so many other better forms of healing available.

Minor Healing is not completely terrible early on, and in a low magic campaign, I think it gets green/blue all the way. It depends on how much healing is available. If witches could change hexes like fighters swap feats or sorcerers swap spells, I think this is a strong blue which gets changed out at level 5 or whatever.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

It's great that you're doing a Witch guide, but I do have to disagree on a few things:

Thanks, I value your input.

Hexes are (mostly) SUpernatural, not SPell-like. So, no Spell Resistance, and no AoOs.

I realized that, but felt like making the disclaimer just in case. Any hexes that exist or come out in the future that ARE Sp will not have to worry about AoOs unless that hex says so, which is a nice little benefit should it ever apply to anything.

I'm sure it gets outpaced at higher levels, but what part of "One free cure light/medium wounds apiece for everyone!" sounds bad?

The part where wands of CLW are 750 gp for 50 charges. Maybe some games don't use them, but it's a common, cheap item, right in the core book. And it makes small amounts of healing (ie, "out of combat healing") much less useful/important. Healing IS amazing for an RP standpoint that you can literally heal an entire metropolis of people if you needed to.

I have to take exception to this rating - with Cackle, this becomes a fantastic save-or-suck power. It applies to pretty much ALL d20 rolls the victim makes. (And if your GM uses any sort of fumble rules, the hilarity never stops.)

Ah yes, fumble rules...I don't consider them in my judgments because I hate them so much... Yeah, it's nastier with fumble rules. I should probably make it green, it's just really dissapointing that save negates completely. I know you can't slumber everything, but it just seems like you can screw up a monster so much more if you're going to use a save negates ability.

LOL. I'm pretty sure you can also use it to deliver touch-range spells with a 10' reach.

Or do both simultaneously!

It IS good (you left out "and the save scales as you level"), but it's mind-affecting, and it's single-target. Two potential downsides.

Well, you don't see too many many-target save or dies until higher levels, so can't be too picky. I know normal sleep is at level 1 usually, and color spray sort of is (range is so short, though!), but I don't think being single target is that bad a drawback. You can only hit each creature with it once/day anyway.

Until it's errata'ed, it seems like a pretty nice save-or-lose spell, and one that targets Fortitude, unlike most witch tricks.

Oh, absolutely, I really like it, I think it's THE best hex at level 10+, and that includes the grand hexes. But it is very under-defined, so it is hard to accurately rate, I just defaulted to average. Going by strict RAW and not reading in things it doesn't say (can't coup de grace people frozen in it; being immune to paralysis means it can't paralyze you even though you're stuck in ice; you're still paralyzed on a failed save even if you resist all the damage; etc...), it is a very very strong ability, on par with Slumber for sure. At least blue, probably violet. But...it's too screwy to rate currently. How good it is will vary wildly upon each DM's interpretation of all the blanks the description didn't fill in.

See my comment on regular Healing.

No, I have to completely disagree here. 3d8 or 4d8 + level once per ally per day simply isn't going to cut it at level 10+. The amount of healing increase compared to the hp of the party and damage monsters deal just falls way too far behind. You'd take it if you had no better hexes to take. Which, at higher levels...is possible. Not many good higher level hexes.

Yeah, but they get three saves against it.

By my reading, two saves. The initial, and then the one to not die. The exhaustion comes automatically on round 2, no save involved.

[sblock]Death Curse (Su): This powerful hex seizes a creature’s heart, causing death within just a few moments. This hex has a range of 30 feet. The hexed creature receives a Will save to negate the effect. If this save is failed, the creature becomes fatigued the first round of the hex. On the second round of the hex, the creature becomes exhausted. On the third round, the creature dies unless it succeeds at a Fort save. Creatures that fail the first save but succeed at the second remain exhausted and take 4d6 points of damage + 1 point of damage per level of the witch. Slaying the witch that hexed the creature ends the effect, but any fatigue or exhaustion remains. Whether or not the saves are successful, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day.[/sblock]

So it's sort of like a Phantasmal Killer that works on more types of creatures, has nastier effects if they avoid death, and is useable at will. Seems decent to me.

Maybe, but not many cause them to suck until the GM or you say "Okay, you FAIL NOW." (No duration listed.)

Hmm...no listed duration is interesting. It does have the clause about going off on its own if you're not around, though.

It will leave an opponent worthless and lootable for one hour, then questionable. (And probably hopping mad.)

An hour? How? I read it as they reincarnate as the new form instantly. And most of the reincarnated forms are a net bonus. And again, it's rolled randomly, so you have no idea how useful it will be as a debuff. Please explain how it leaves someone worthless for an hour.

Interestingly, nothing in it says that you can't use it on yourself. That's one way to get around the aging rules...

Mmm...just like a Druid... You'd probably lose mental age bonuses, though.

The negative level's pretty brutal, but if you have some downtime and need a spell you don't know, summoning the ghost of a dead caster seems like a good way to get it.

Hmm, maybe. I need other people ot elaborate ways to make that good. I avoid the calling/binding spells like the plague and know nothing of optimizing them. I really don't like the costs involved and it seems like most of the good applications are game-breakingly good. So it never interested me.

LIES! At least from levels 1 -10.

Granted. There are a fair number of good low level hexes. The major and grand ones are a huge letdown, though..

Minor Healing is not completely terrible early on, and in a low magic campaign, I think it gets green/blue all the way. It depends on how much healing is available. If witches could change hexes like fighters swap feats or sorcerers swap spells, I think this is a strong blue which gets changed out at level 5 or whatever.

I agree with this. If your DM lets you retrain hexes, Healing is a solid blue. It just loses its ground so fast and so much after not that many levels, I couldn't rate it higher.

 

[Samurai]

Major Healing is definite suck because by the time it's accessible, there's so many other better forms of healing available.

Minor Healing is not completely terrible early on, and in a low magic campaign, I think it gets green/blue all the way. It depends on how much healing is available. If witches could change hexes like fighters swap feats or sorcerers swap spells, I think this is a strong blue which gets changed out at level 5 or whatever.

Think of it like this... Minor Healing is a useful 1st level spell that can be cast at will, once per person per day. At 5th level it morphs into a 2nd level spell, twice as powerful, still at will 1 per person per day. Major Healing is 4th level spell, at will, and it becomes a 5th level spell that is usable at will, 1/person/day.

Not many powers give what is effectively 4th and 5th level spells cast at will. Compare with the major hex Control Weather, which is a 7th level spell but of rather limited usefulness... it can only be cast 1/day, and its casting time is increased to 1 hour! What would you rather have, a free Cure spell for each party member that doesn't draw attacks of opportunity from nearby enemies like a normal spell would, plus a free touch attack against undead (1/day/creature) that again doesn't draw attacks of opportunity and bypasses magic resistance (since a Cure spell harms undead, remember), or 1 Control Weather spell per day, w/ a 1 hour casting time? And yet, Control Weather got a higher rating? IMO, Major Healing will probably be one of my 1st major hexes I pick up, along with Retribution...

 

[Arbane]

Or do both simultaneously!

Sadly, Prehensile Hair says it only gives you _one_ extra limb.

Oh, absolutely, I really like it, I think it's THE best hex at level 10+, and that includes the grand hexes. But it is very under-defined, so it is hard to accurately rate, I just defaulted to average.

Fair enough.

An hour? How? I read it as they reincarnate as the new form instantly. And most of the reincarnated forms are a net bonus. And again, it's rolled randomly, so you have no idea how useful it will be as a debuff. Please explain how it leaves someone worthless for an hour.

Hm... now I'm not sure. The Hex description says:

Those that fail are slain and immediately brought back to life with the spell reincarnate.

But Reincarnate says:

The magic of the spell creates an entirely new young adult body for the soul to inhabit from the natural elements at hand. This process takes 1 hour to complete. When the body is ready, the subject is reincarnated.

I think it means the 'die and then Reincarnate kicks in' part is immediate, but that it would still take an hour, but I'm actually not sure. Yay, editing.

I'm pretty sure it would still smack them with two negative levels, though.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Think of it like this... Minor Healing is a useful 1st level spell that can be cast at will, once per person per day. At 5th level it morphs into a 2nd level spell, twice as powerful, still at will 1 per person per day. Major Healing is 4th level spell, at will, and it becomes a 5th level spell that is usable at will, 1/person/day.

Not many powers give what is effectively 4th and 5th level spells cast at will. Compare with the major hex Control Weather, which is a 7th level spell but of rather limited usefulness... it can only be cast 1/day, and its casting time is increased to 1 hour! What would you rather have, a free Cure spell for each party member that doesn't draw attacks of opportunity from nearby enemies like a normal spell would, plus a free touch attack against undead (1/day/creature) that again doesn't draw attacks of opportunity and bypasses magic resistance (since a Cure spell harms undead, remember), or 1 Control Weather spell per day, w/ a 1 hour casting time? And yet, Control Weather got a higher rating? IMO, Major Healing will probably be one of my 1st major hexes I pick up, along with Retribution...

Control Weather can be very powerful, though, and it's rated as it is on the assumption you're getting it around level 10, for some early entry to a 7th level spell effect. It ages badly, of course, especially afteryou can just cast it anyway. But there's a 3-5 level range where it's pretty good. The major healing hex is very weak in combat healing even at level 10, and it's not becoming a "5th level spell effect" (and just because witch gets ripped off on healing doesn't necessarily make it 5th level in power, I consider cure critical a 4th level spell effect) until level 15. I can make it orange and regular healing green if people feel so strongly about the value of small healing. Having it as a weapon against undead is an application I hadn't considered.

Hm... now I'm not sure. The Hex description says:



But Reincarnate says:


I think it means the 'die and then Reincarnate kicks in' part is immediate, but that it would still take an hour, but I'm actually not sure. Yay, editing.

I'm pretty sure it would still smack them with two negative levels, though.

I think the "immediately brought back to life" part means that it all happens instantaneously. Still yeah, the death penalties are a debuff, though not much of one for the level youre getting the effect. It is a funny hex, and that's worth something. I wonder why Witches didn't just get an at will Baleful Polymorph?

 

[BuzzardB]

Good guide, still have no interest in making a witch though

Know any more Pathfinder handbooks? All the ones i've found are for 3.5.