[pf] Interesting Witch Builds?

[Solidarigee]

Hey everyone! I want to make a CG witch (though I don't have a campaign yet for her). I want her to have a lot of buff/debuff capabilities with general utility as well. I was wondering if anyone could give insight onto my build (I'd like to optimize). I want her to be useful at all levels, so nothing that only works at high levels or that piddles out by level 10 please. 28 point buy. If you can make something hilarious (a paragon of a certain spell of instance) go for it! I love weird builds, I just can't think of them. I also really like having a familiar (though not necessarily for combat because it's my spell book).

Feel free to use any or none of the ideas I've thrown down here, they're just draft ideas. Anyone who can make my familiar ridiculously useful (but keep it safe) gets bonus points!

Witch 20
Human CG

Str 8 Con 12 Dex 14 Int 25 (+2 racial +5 from levels) Wis 10 Cha 13

Familiar: Compsognathus (free Improved Initiative)
Improved Familiar: Open to ideas
Patron: Open to ideas

Hexes:
1. Slumber (because it's awesome)
2. Fortune
3 (feat). Healing Hex (Probably useful to have at low levels)
4. Flight
6. Cackle
8. Misfortune
10. Retribution
12. Major Healing
14. Weather Control
16. Hag's eye
18. Forced Reincarnate
20. Eternal Slumber

Feats:
Human. Accursed Hex (Slumber)
1. Ability Focus (Slumber)
3. Extra Hex
5. Evolved Familiar
7. Improved Familiar
9.
11. Split Hex
13.
15.
17.
19.


I was thinking a Brownie (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/fey/brownie) as it can UMD (with my checks; I'll max it) to use wands, scrolls, etc. It's also really good at staying alive and escaping. It would fit well thematically with the deception or trickery patron I think.

Pseudodragon and Faerie dragon are also good choices. Telepathy and sleep sting or drug breath. Faerie dragon gets spells as a third level sorcerer and 3/day greater invisibility.

I also like the Cassian (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/outsiders/angel/angel-cassisian) familiar (it can UMD too). It also has truespeech.

Any weird tricks that I could do with familiars would be appreciated as well!

[Solidarigee]

I also just thought of another familiar: the Silvanashee. It has tongues as well and it would be an amazing scout!

[Arbane]

The Reach Spell metamagic might be useful - witches get a lot of Touch of X spells that become a lot nastier as ranged-touch.

[Curious]

You may want to check out the Witch (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=480.0) handbook.

[Solidarigee]

Thanks for the tips! I'm also looking for builds however, something crazy and fun!

I remember in 3.5 my transmuter share spelled Polymorph on herself and her familiar and both became hydras which was fun.

[Psyren]

The Reach Spell metamagic might be useful - witches get a lot of Touch of X spells that become a lot nastier as ranged-touch.

You can also use their Prehensile Hair hex to deliver these spells 10 feet away, potentially saving a feat.

[Arbane]

Patron: Open to ideas


Shadow might be good. Shadow Conjuration/Evocation give you access to a LOT of nice tricks Witches can't otherwise get.



Hexes:
1. Slumber (because it's awesome)
2. Fortune
3 (feat). Healing Hex (Probably useful to have at low levels)
4. Flight
6. Cackle
8. Misfortune
10. Retribution
12. Major Healing
14. Weather Control
16. Hag's eye
18. Forced Reincarnate
20. Eternal Slumber


If you're going to take Fortune at 2, I'd recommend grabbing Cackle with a feat at 3 - they just work TOO WELL together. (And then Misfortune at 4, for the same reason.) But yeah, Healing Hex is rather nice at low levels.

(I went a bit overboard with Hexes on my Human Witch - two Extra Hex feats at level 1 had me starting with Cackle, Misfortune, and Heal. Who needs spells? :smallbiggrin: )

Also, I'm not sure Eternal Slumber is worth it - if regular Slumber can knock someone out for 20 rounds, that probably WILL be 'the rest of their life'. It does have the advantage that their allies can't wake them up.



Feats:
Human. Accursed Hex (Slumber)


I _think_ Accursed Hex (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/accursed-hex) works for all hexes, not just one.

On that note, consider the Ice Tomb hex (targets Fort instead of Will, unlike 90% of a witch's tricks), and possibly the Persistent Spell (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/metamagic-feats/persistent-spell-metamagic) metamagic (Make your Save or Lose spells into 'save twice or lose' spells!).

What sort of evolution were you planning on giving the Familiar?

[Solidarigee]

Oh wow! yeah, I'll reorder my hexes.

Thanks for the accursed hex insight!

I think I'm going to give a pseudo dragon reach so it can flyby attack with its sting and knock enemies out. though I'm not sure it'd ever hit them with such a low attack roll...

Maybe I should just get an Extra hex instead.

1. Slumber (because it's awesome)
2. Fortune
3 (feat). Cackle
4. Misfortune
5 (extra). Flight
6. Evil Eye
8. Prehensile Hair (for touch attacks)
10. Retribution
12. Ice Tomb
14. Major Healing
16. Control Weather
18. Forced Reincarnate
20. Death Curse

I'll get the Faerie Dragon familiar for 100ft telepathy perfect fly speed and drug breath (think of the fun my party could have every 1d4 rounds!) Not to mention 3/day greater invis on itself and cast as a 3rd level sorcerer (silent images for me)

[Arbane]

One last thought - you might want to swap Fortune and Misfortune - you can only aid each ally with Fortune once a day, but you can Misfortune every single enemy you run into.

[Wings of Peace]

I'm very fond of Beast-Bonded as an archetype because of the 10th level ability. It's niftyish at a glance but think for a few moments, your dead familiar is still alive and communicable. By my reading (though this could stand some debate) a Witch can still prepare her spells when a familiar is inside of her. This means that if you're really worried about being unable to prep spells, just kill your familiar and keep it inside you.

[cZak]

The Prehensile hair seems to have some cool flavor when combined with some 0 level spells at the early levels.

10' reach combined with guidance & touch of fatigue makes a pretty good buff/ debuff at will.

[Feralventas]

The Prehensile hair seems to have some cool flavor when combined with some 0 level spells at the early levels.

10' reach combined with guidance & touch of fatigue makes a pretty good buff/ debuff at will.

I was looking at a Monk/Witch mix that fought with his beard and applied hexes with FoB. Haven't gotten the chance to test it yet, but it'll probably be my next character if my current cleric drops.

That or the puppet-themed necromancy witch mixed with Rogue into Arcane trickster. Sneak attack with Inflict spells from 20+ feet away while not looking like you're casting anything, just playing with a doll. Much easier to get away with on either a young or halfing/gnome character with the feat to look the part.

[Arbane]

The Prehensile hair seems to have some cool flavor when combined with some 0 level spells at the early levels.

Witches have a fair number of good Touch spells at higher levels, too, all with the downside that a witch has NO business being in melee range. This makes them a lot better.

Also, I recently found out that you can AoO people to trip or disarm, in addition to just smacking them. Possibly a good way to keep a charger from reaching you, if things go wrong.

It's technically not a witch, but it occurs to me that a Magus with the Archetype that lets them take Hexes might be able to have some fun with Prehensile Hair...

Edit to add: Is there any not-too-painful way to add Permanency to a witch's spell list?

[Akal Saris]

My witch is also buff/debuff focused. As another poster said, the synergy between fortune, misfortune, and cackle is simply too good to pass up - those were my first 3 hexes after slumber and I regret nothing!

I went with the agility patron, since Haste is an amazing buff spell if you have melee and archer allies, and I have a dex-based fighter and a rogue in my party who both still benefit nicely from Cat's Grace (we're L5 right now).

For an improved familiar, I'm going with the flying celestial hat, since it will be silly and will basically give Prot Law to whoever wears it, which is another nifty little buff.