The Witch, My version

[Jarrick]

A classic fantasy archtype, the witch can fill numerous roles in a variety of campaign settings.

Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d4

Class Skills
The Witch's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disguise (Cha), Handle animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha) Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), and Survival (Wis)

Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.


{table=head] Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | 0th | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th

1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Specialization, Summon Familiar | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —

2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Hex 1/day, Woodland Stride | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —

3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Brew Potion | 6 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —

4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Advanced Learning | 6 | 6 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | —

5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Trackless Step | 6 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | —

6th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Hex 2/day | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | —

7th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Flight | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | —

8th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Advanced Learning | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | — | —

9th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Hex 3/day | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | —

10th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Ever-changing Beauty | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | —

11th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Greater Hex | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | —

12th | +6/+1 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Advanced Learning, Hex 4/day | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | — | — | —

13th | +6/+1 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Improved Flight | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | — | — | —

14th | +7/+2 | +4 | +4 | +9 | Eternal Youth | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | — | —

15th | +7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +9 | Hex 5/day | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | — | —

16th | +8/+3 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Advanced Learning | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | —

17th | +8/+3 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Dire Hex | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | —

18th | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Hex 6/day | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3

19th | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Master Flight | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4

20th | +10/+5 | +6 | +6 | +12 | Advanced Learning, Rejuvenation | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5
[/table]

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Witch.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Witches are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any armor or shields. Armor of any type interferes with a witch's gestures, which can cause her spells with somatic components to fail.

Spells: A Witch casts arcane spells which are drawn from the Witch spell list. She can cast any spell on the list without preparing it ahead of time, the way a wizard or a cleric must.
To cast a spell, a Witch must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Witch’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Witch's Charisma modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a Witch can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Spells Per Day. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Charisma score.
Unlike a wizard or a cleric, a witch need not prepare her spells in advance. She can cast any spell she knows at any time, assuming she has not yet used up her spells per day for that spell level. She does not have to decide ahead of time which spells she’ll cast.

Specialization: At first level, a witch chooses a portfolio matching her personal preferences and training. The witch chooses a listed domain from those available to clerics (or comes up with one of her own, either one subject to DM approval) and adds the spells of that domain to her list of spells known and gains that domain’s granted power where applicable. The DM is discouraged from allowing overtly offensive domains. A witch’s magic is subtle, not violent.

Familiar: A witch can obtain a familiar in exactly the same manner as a sorcerer can.

Hex (Su): Once per day, as a free action, a witch can unleash a curse upon a foe. The target must be visible to the witch and within 60 feet. The target of a hex takes a -2 penalty on attacks, saves, ability checks, skills checks, and weapon damage for one hour thereafter. A successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 witch's class level + witch's charisma modifier) negates the effect.
At 6th level and every 3 levels thereafter, the witch can use this ability an additional time per day. Upon a successful save, a creature cannot be affected by that witch's hex again for 24 hours.

Woodland Stride (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a witch may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at her normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that have been magically manipulated to impede motion still affect her.

Brew Potion: At 3rd level, a witch gains Brew Potion as a bonus feat.

Advanced Learning: At 4th level, you can add a new spell to your list, representing the result of personal study and experimentation. The spell must not be of the evocation school and may be chosen from the cleric, druid, or sorcerer/wizard spell lists. The spell chosen can be of no higher level than the highest level of spells you are able to cast. Once chosen, the spell is forever added to your spell list and can be cast just as any other spell on the list.
You learn an additional new spell at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level.

Trackless Step (Ex): Starting at 5th level, a witch leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. She may choose to leave a trail if so desired.

Flight: Upon reaching 7th level, the witch gains the ability to imbue an object with the ability to fly. Doing this requires magical agents costing 100gp and 1 uninterrupted hour of ritual. The object to be imbued must be within 1 size category of the witch and capable of supporting her weight. Common choices include brooms, staves, and chairs, but other items have been used, such as boat oars, carpets, and in one case, even an over-sized mortar and pestle. Regardless of composition, at the completion of the ritual the item so imbued gains the properties of a broom of flying except that its flight duration is 2 hours per witch level per day. Flying on the item follows the same rules as riding a flying mount, but the relevant skill is Spellcraft, not ride. The item functions only for the witch that created it and obeys only her commands, becoming seemingly inert in her absence. The witch may only create and own one such item at a time. If the witch attempts to craft a new flight item, the older item ceases to function, losing any properties gained by this ability.

Ever-changing Beauty (Su): At 10th level, a witch gains the ability to change her appearance at will, as if using the disguise self spell.

Greater Hex: At 11th level the penalties associated with the witch’s Hex ability increase to -4.

Improved flight: At 13th level, the witch’s flight item improves. Its speed increases to 60 ft. with good maneuverability and the item is capable of carrying up to 300 pounds at a speed of 60 ft, or 600lbs at a speed of 40ft.

Eternal Youth (Ex): After attaining 14th level, a witch no longer takes ability score penalties for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any penalties she may have already incurred, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the witch still dies of old age when her time is up.

Dire Hex: At 17th level the penalties associated with the witch’s Hex ability increase to -6.

Master Flight: At 19th level, the witch’s flight item improves yet again. Its speed increases to 100 ft. with perfect maneuverability. The item is capable of carrying up to 500 pounds at a speed of 100 ft, or 1000lbs at a speed of 80ft.

Rejuvenation: At 20th level, the witch becomes truly legendary, gaining the ability to conquer death itself. The witch binds her soul to her familiar in a manner similar to the way a lich binds its soul to a phylactery, but without the cost. Upon the witch’s death, her body turns to ash and her soul enters her familiar, which retains all familiar abilities, and there lies dormant for 1d10 days. After this time is up, the witch materializes near her familiar in a new youthful, living body. If the familiar is killed in the intervening time, the witch dies, and her soul passes on to its final reward.





Witch Spell List:

0 Level: arcane mark, cure minor wounds, dancing lights, daze, detect magic, detect poison, flare, ghost sound, light, mending, read magic, resistance, virtue.

1st Level: cause fear, disguise self, charm person, command, comprehend languages, cure light wounds, doom, endure elements, hypnotism, identify, silent image, sleep, speak with animals, ventriloquism.

2nd Level: alter self, blindness/deafness, calm emotions, cure moderate wounds, delay poison, detect thoughts, enthrall, invisibility, locate object, minor image, scare, whispering wind.

3rd Level: bestow curse, clairvoyance/clairaudience, contagion, create food and water, dispel magic, Leomund’s tiny hut, magic circle against chaos/law/evil/good*, major image, rage, remove blindness/deafness, suggestion, tongues.

4th Level: charm monster, crushing despair, discern lies, divination, fear, giant vermin, good hope, locate creature, minor creation, neutralize poison, polymorph, remove curse, scrying.

5th Level: baleful polymorph, dream, false vision, feeblemind, greater command, magic jar, major creation, mirage arcana, nightmare, seeming, sending.

6th Level: animate objects, control weather, eyebite, find the path, geas/quest, greater scrying, heroes’ feast, legend lore, mass suggestion, mislead, repulsion, shadow image, Tenser’s transformation, true seeing.

7th Level: creeping doom, finger of death, insanity, liveoak, repel wood, transport via plants.

8th Level: antipathy, demand, discern location, horrid wilting, polymorph any object, sympathy, trap the soul.

9th Level: earthquake, foresight, refuge, shapechange, wail of the banshee, weird.

*When she becomes able to cast 3rd-level spells, the witch
chooses to have one of the four magic circle spells on her spell list.
Whichever spell she chooses, she cannot cast it as a spell of an
alignment opposed to her own.

[Latronis]

healing, nature based stuff, familiar, hexes, polymorph, has everything it should, my only concern is they are generally too associated with the book for it to be anything but a prepared caster in my opinion.

[mrcarter11]

Looks nice. I might give it a try. Master flight has a copy and paste error in the text though.

[J.Gellert]

+1 for prepared caster, merely for flavor reasons. Looks great otherwise.

[DragoonWraith]

What book? And I think a Witch makes a particularly good choice for full-list caster. -1 for prepared caster.

[Latronis]

book of shadows, grimoire, whatever, spellbooks.

[J.Gellert]

Witches in general are associated with forbidden tomes, grimoires, books of shadows, and so on. Even this class has an Advanced Learning feature, while spontaneous casting generally diverts away from "learning".

Edit: Ninja'd! But how! This never happens to me!

[Latronis]

well that was what i was referring to in the first place.

The only problem i had when trying to do so as a prepared caster was what to allow. It was a mess, in the end i decided to most viable way to not unbalance it was to create their own spelllist that they could write from, which unfortuately would only really work if they were a fairly central part of the campaign. Unless you wanted to have arbitrary restrcitions on what could and could not be written to books.

[hamishspence]

Maybe the class could have a few variants- sea witch, dread witch, shadow witch?

[Latronis]

well Dread Witch is already taken by a PrC.

[hamishspence]

PRCs can be supplemented. And sometimes a class and a PRC can have the same name.

Expecially when you take Dragon Magazine into account- the Incarnate in Dragon is a Neutral variant paladin, but the Incarnate in Magic of Incarnum is very different.

Sea Witch and Dread Witch are both PRCs- but I like the notion of a class that can fill both archetypes.

Still, if the Witch takes the Ocean domain, they might be called a "sea witch".

[DrWeird]

It's funny - I thought the same thing about the witch needing to prepare spells with all of their tomes and forbidden books; but just like looting a wizard's library, not all books are for storage of his spells. Manuals that grant bonuses to rituals and crafting golems, pages upon pages than function as scrolls, and simple spell compendiums. Witches are diverse, and the only problem I see with this class is that they don't have magic cauldrons. I was going to complain about no broomstick flying, but then I saw you had it in there, hidden from my natural 1 on a spot check. :smallamused:

[Jarrick]

Maybe the class could have a few variants- sea witch, dread witch, shadow witch?

Well, that was the general idea behind the advanced learning and the specialization class features. You could let your spell selection take care of most of it. I had the witches from Howl's Moving Castle in mind when I wrote that, since some of them specialize in bestowing curses, and others are specialized in removing them. I also drew from a certain witch of the... bog, was it? that was described to me from a book my friend read. So yeah, with all the domains, you can do everything from "white" witches (Healing domain) to the aforementioned shadow witch (Darkness domain).


It's funny - I thought the same thing about the witch needing to prepare spells with all of their tomes and forbidden books; but just like looting a wizard's library, not all books are for storage of his spells. Manuals that grant bonuses to rituals and crafting golems, pages upon pages than function as scrolls, and simple spell compendiums. Witches are diverse, and the only problem I see with this class is that they don't have magic cauldrons. I was going to complain about no broomstick flying, but then I saw you had it in there, hidden from my natural 1 on a spot check. :smallamused:

Heh, yeah, like someone mentioned before, it was more for ease of play (and construction) to just make them full-list casters. The class was made for a noob player, so I wanted to keep it simple. As for the cauldrons, I'm not sure exactly what I could do with that, but they do have brew potion, and a cauldron could be used to hold the water for their scrying spells. Any suggestions?

[Zaydos]

Besides witches are varied enough in folklore, not all had books. Some were taught orally, and many times their books were more on potioncraft and alchemy than their spells. Other times they had grimoires, and books of darkness, or had to sign their names in the devil's book.

I'd say leave them without spellbooks and as full-list casters; they might learn their magic from books but rarely do they need the grimoires except for spells they have never truly mastered.

Edit: Also Ever-Changing Beauty might should function as Disguise Self like a Druid's Thousand Faces does since Alter Self can be much more easily abused.

[Jarrick]

Edit: Also Ever-Changing Beauty might should function as Disguise Self like a Druid's Thousand Faces does since Alter Self can be much more easily abused.

Oops, that's what I meant to do. I'll fix it.

[The Antigamer]

I like it. Good flavor, fine abilities, full caster. I agree that cauldron is used in Brew Potion. Looks pretty done to me, although I think it could use another advanced knowledge or two, but I just love me some spells, so /shrug.