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DecimalPoint
2013-08-15, 06:56 PM
Hey all, so this is my first real homebrew (I say real, I have actually rewritten all the base classes but they were more or less pinched straight from Deepbluediver (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?u=63580). What can I say, I really like his style!). I may post the others that I've reworked a lot. I'm rather pleased with this Witch class. Most of the named abilities are taken from pathfinder hexes for the witch, but I felt that hexes took more management than getting the abilities as standard. And I thought these ones fit the archetype better anyway. I'll add my reasoning as to why I did X Y or Z in spoilers to save space :smallbiggrin:


The Witch

Some magic is gained through study, other magic is gained through faith. Some spellcasters have an innate talent for the art. The Witch has none of these. She instead draws her magic from the unknown. An otherworldly pact grants her spells and strange abilities to help her break her enemies.

Role: A Witch’s spells allow her to fill many roles in a party from healer to buffer. A witch’s strongest place in a party however is that of a de-buffer: a supporting caster who weakens enemies, making it easier for them to be overcome.

Alignment: Any
Hit Dice: d8
Class Skills: Balance (Dex), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (History) (Int), Knowledge (Nature) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) ×4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.



Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort
Ref
Will
Special
0th
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th


1
0
2
0
2
Brew Potion, Witch's Familiar, Cauldron
3
1
-
-
-
-
-


2
1
3
0
3
Hex -1/-2
3
2
-
-
-
-
-


3
2
3
1
3
Nails
4
2
-
-
-
-
-


4
3
4
1
4
Wild Empathy
4
3
1
-
-
-
-


5
3
4
1
4
Cackle 1/day
4
3
2
-
-
-
-


6
4
5
2
5
Hex -2/-4
5
4
2
-
-
-
-


7
5
5
2
5
-
5
4
3
1
-
-
-


8
6/1
6
2
6
Wild Shape 1/day, Witch's Brew
5
4
3
2
-
-
-


9
6/1
6
3
6
Camouflage, Ward
6
5
4
2
-
-
-


10
7/2
7
3
7
Hex -3/-6, Cackle 2/day
6
5
4
3
1
-
-


11
8/3
7
3
7
Wild Shape 2/day
6
5
4
3
2
-
-


12
9/4
8
4
8
Swamp Hag
7
6
5
4
2
-
-


13
9/4
8
4
8
Improved Brew Potion
7
6
5
4
3
1
-


14
10/5
9
4
9
Wild Shape 3/day, Hex -4/-8
7
6
5
4
3
2
-


15
11/6/1
9
5
9
Cackle 3/day
7
7
6
5
4
2
-


16
12/7/2
10
5
10
-
8
7
6
5
4
3
1


17
12/7/2
10
5
10
Wild Shape 4/day
8
7
6
5
4
3
2


18
13/8/3
11
6
11
Hex -5/-10
8
7
7
6
5
4
2


19
14/9/4
11
6
11
-
8
8
7
6
5
4
3


20
15/10/5
12
6
12
Wild Shape 5/day, Master Hexer (capstone)
9
8
7
6
5
4
3



Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Witches are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any type of armour or shield. Armour interferes with a witch’s gestures, which can cause her spells with somatic components to fail (this includes the Hex ability of a level 19 or lower witch).

Spells: A witch casts arcane spells drawn from the witch spell list. A Witch can cast any spell she knows without preparing it ahead of time.

The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a witch’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the witch’s Wisdom modifier.

A Witch can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on the above Table. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Intelligence score.

A Witch's selection of spells is somewhat limited. A Witch begins play knowing four 0-level spells and two 1st-level spell of her choice. At each new Witch level, she gains 2 new spells. 1 spell must be of the highest level spell she can cast, and the second must be of any other level (she can cast).

Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered Witch level after that (6th, 8th, and so on), a Witch can choose to learn a new spell in place of one she already knows. In effect, the Witch loses the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell's level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged. A Witch may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that she gains new spells known for the level.

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.

Brew Potion (Ex): The witch gains the Brew Potion feat at first level, even if she does not meet the prerequisites for it.

Witch’s Familiar (Ex): At 1st level, a Witch forms a close bond with a familiar, a creature that teaches her magic and helps to guide her along her path. See below for more information.
A Witch must commune with her familiar each day to prepare her mind for casting spells. Familiars store all of the spells that a Witch knows and while a Witch commune with her familiar, the familiar transfers the knowledge of the spells over to the Witch. A Witch may commune with another witch’s familiar in order to learn a different set of spells for that day, but there is a 20% chance a given spell isn't properly communicated and isn't learnt.

Cauldron (Ex): At 1st level, a witch gains a +2 insight bonus on any and all craft (alchemy) checks she performs. When using a cauldron she gains an additional +2 circumstance bonus to these checks.

Hex (Su): At 2nd level, a Witch has started to unlock her power to weaken foes. As a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity, a Witch can target one creature within short range (25ft + 5ft/2 levels) and attempt to place a hex on it. The creature either takes a -1 penalty on all attack rolls, damage rolls and saving throws or a -2 penalty on all ability checks and skill checks (Witch’s choice, a successful Will save (DC 10 + Witch’s level + Witch’s wisdom modifier) negates either effect) for one hour. The penalties increase by 1 and 2 every four Witch levels. The hexes require a line of sight to the target and have vocal and somatic components. A creature can only be targeted once per day with either hex and at any one time, the Witch can have a number of hexed targets equal to her wisdom modifier. Any new hexes that are successfully placed remain, but previous hexes are lifted, starting with the eldest hex.

Nails (Ex): The witch’s nails are long and sharp, and count as natural weapons that deal 1d3 points of damage (1d2 for a Small witch). These attacks are secondary attacks. If trimmed, the witch’s nails re-grow to their normal size in 1d4 days.

Wild Empathy (Ex): A witch can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person. The witch rolls 1d20 and adds her witch level and her Charisma bonus to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.

To use wild empathy, the witch and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal visibility conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute, but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.
The witch can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but she takes a –4 penalty on the check.

Wild Shape (Su): At 8th level, a witch gains the ability to turn herself into any Tiny or Small animal and back again once per day. Her options for new forms include all creatures with the animal type. This ability functions like the alternate form special ability, except as noted here. The effect lasts for 1 hour per witch level, or until she changes back. Changing form (to animal or back) is a standard action and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. Each time you use wild shape, you regain lost hit points as if you had rested for a night.

Any gear worn or carried by the witch melds into the new form and becomes non-functional. When the witch reverts to her true form, any objects previously melded into the new form reappear in the same location on her body that they previously occupied and are once again functional. Any new items worn in the assumed form fall off and land at the witch's feet.

The form chosen must be that of an animal the witch is familiar with.
A witch loses her ability to speak while in animal form because she is limited to the sounds that a normal, untrained animal can make, but she can communicate normally with other animals of the same general grouping as her new form. (The normal sound a wild parrot makes is a squawk, so changing to this form does not permit speech.)

The new form’s Hit Dice can’t exceed the character’s witch level.
The witch gains an additional use per day at 11th, 14th, 17th, and 20th level, as noted in the table above.

Witch’s Brew (Ex): When the witch uses her cauldron to brew a potion, she may spend double or triple the cost to create 2 or 3 identical potions that day (respectively) instead of just 1.

Camouflage (Ex): While in natural terrain, a witch can move at her full base speed (armor and status effects permitting). In such terrain, the witch also gains a hide bonus equal to her wisdom modifier.

Ward (Su): A witch can use this ability to place a protective ward over one creature as a standard action which provokes an attack of opportunity. The warded creature receives a +4 deflection bonus to AC and a +3 resistance bonus on saving throws. This ward lasts until the warded creature is hit or fails a saving throw. A witch knows when a warded creature is no longer protected. A witch can have only one ward active at a time. If the witch uses this ability again, the previous ward immediately ends. A witch cannot use this ability on herself.

Cackle (Su): A witch can begin cackling madly as a move action. Any creature that can hear the witch and is within 30ft of her must make a will save (10 + witch’s wisdom modifier) or be dazed for 1d4 rounds. A witch can use this ability once at 5th level, then gains an additional use per day at Witch levels 10 and 15.

Swamp Hag (Ex): While travelling through swamps, mires, bogs, and similar terrain, the witch leaves no trail and cannot be tracked. She may leave a trail if she desires. The witch can walk through mud and even quicksand as if it were normal ground.

Improved Brew Potion (Ex): at 13th level, a witch gains Improved Brew Potion as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites for it. In addition, the witch only needs to pay half of the standard XP cost (I.e. 1/50 of the gp cost).

Improved Brew Potion [Item Creation]
You can create more powerful potions than other alchemists.
Prerequisite: Brew Potion, Craft (alchemy) 8 ranks
Benefit: You are not bound by a spell level limit when you brew potions. In all other respects, the standard rules for brewing potions apply.

Master Hexer (capstone, Su): at 20th level a Witch is so adept at weakening foes that her Hex ability improves further. The Witch now only needs a line of effect to target a creature for either hex, she can forego the verbal and somatic components (albeit at a -4 penalty on the DC). The DC increases to 13 + Witch’s level + the Witch’s wisdom modifier and she can attempt to place a hex on multiple creatures simultaneously; She targets a number of creatures equal to half her Witch level (no two of which can be more than 30ft apart) all within the area must make saving throws or be placed under a hex. The effect of the hex is chosen at the time of casting and all creatures are placed under the same hex. Finally the duration of the Witch’s hexes increases to two hours (she can only target any one creature a maximum of once per day and can still only have a maximum number of hexed targets equal to half her Witch level).

DecimalPoint
2013-08-15, 07:05 PM
The Witch: Spell List and Familiar Section

Spells

All Spells are from the Players Handbook and Spell Compendium

0th
Arcane Mark; Calm Animals; Charm Animal; Cure Minor Wounds; Dawn; Detect Poison; Enrage Animal; Ghost Sound; Guidance; Know Direction; Silent Image

1st
Command; Comprehend Languages; Delay Disease; Detect Animals or Plants
Disguise Self; Doom; Healthful Rest; Hold Animal; Identify; Sleep; Ventriloquism

2nd
Alter Self; Barkskin; Brambles; Calm Emotions; Cause Fear; Cure Light Wounds; Dead End; Detect Magic; Enthrall; Familiar Pocket; Stabilize; Swift Invisibility; Whispering Wind

3rd
Close Wounds; Cone of Dimness; Decoy Image; Delay Poison; Detect Thoughts; Dominate Animal; Illusory Script; Invisibility; Minor Image; Plant Growth; Scare

4th
Cure Moderate Wounds; Discern Lies; Enhance Familiar; Fear; Good Hope; Illusory Wall; Major Image; Phantasmal Killer; Polymorph; Wood Rot

5th
Baleful Polymorph; Command Plants; Divination; Feeblemind; Greater Command; Locate Creature; Plant Body; Scrying

6th
Mislead; False Vision; Greater Scrying; Hiss of Sleep; Master Earth; Repel Wood; Seeming; Symbol of Persuasion; True Seeing


Familiar

Use the basic statistics for a creature of the familiar's kind, but with the following changes:

Hit Dice: For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher.

Hit Points: The familiar has half the master's total hit points (not including temporary hit points), rounded down, regardless of its actual Hit Dice.

Attacks: Use the master's base attack bonus, as calculated from all her classes. Use the familiar's Dexterity or Strength modifier, whichever is greater, to calculate the familiar's melee attack bonus with natural weapons. Damage equals that of a normal creature of the familiar's kind.

Saving Throws: For each saving throw, use either the familiar's base save bonus (Fortitude +2, Reflex +2, Will +0) or the master's (as calculated from all her classes), whichever is better. The familiar uses its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn't share any of the other bonuses that the master might have on saves.

Skills: For each skill in which either the master or the familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master's skill ranks, whichever is better. In either case, the familiar uses its own ability modifiers. Regardless of a familiar's total skill modifiers, some skills may remain beyond the familiar's ability to use.

Familiar Ability Descriptions

All familiars have special abilities depending on the master's combined level in classes that grant familiars, as shown on the table below. The abilities are cumulative. A familiar also grants special abilities to its master, as given on the table below. These special abilities apply only when the master and familiar are within 1 mile of each other.



Familiar
Special


Bat
Master gains a +3 bonus on Listen checks


Cat
Master gains a +3 bonus on Move Silently checks


Hawk
Master gains a +3 bonus on Spot checks in bright light


Lizard
Master gains a +3 bonus on Climb checks


Owl
Master gains a +3 bonus on Spot checks in shadows


Rat
Master gains a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves


Raven*
Master gains a +3 bonus on Appraise checks


Snake**
Master gains a +3 bonus on Bluff checks


Toad
Master gains +3 hit points


Weasel
Master gains a +2 bonus on Reflex saves


*A raven familiar can speak one language of its master's choice as a supernatural ability.
**Tiny viper.



Master Class Level
Natural Armour Adj.
Intelligence
Special


1st-2nd
+1
6
spells, store spells, Charm Person


3rd-4th
+2
7
Deliver touch spells, Calm Emotions


5th-6th
+3
8
Speak with master, Suggestion


7th-8th
+4
9
Speak with animals of its kind, Dominate Person


9th-10th
+5
10
Charm Monster


11th-12th
+6
11
Spell resistance, Mass Suggestion


13th-14th
+7
12
Scry on familiar, Mass Charm Monster


15th-16th
+8
13
True Domination


17th-18th
+9
14
Dominate Monster


19th-20th
+10
15
Monstrous Thrall



Natural Armour Adj: The number noted here is in addition to the familiar's existing natural armour bonus.

Int: The familiar's Intelligence score.

Alertness (Ex): While a familiar is within arm's reach, the master gains the Alertness feat.

Empathic Link (Su): The master has an empathic link with her familiar to a 1 mile distance. The master can communicate emphatically with the familiar, but cannot see through its eyes. Because of the link's limited nature, only general emotions can be shared. The master has the same connection to an item or place that her familiar does.

Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails.

Share Spells: The witch may cast a spell with a target of “You” (i.e. personal range) on her familiar (as a touch spell) instead of on herself. A witch may cast spells on her familiar even if the spells do not normally affect creatures of the familiar's type (magical beast).

Store Spells: Starting at 1st level, a witch’s familiar stores all of the spells that the witch knows. This does not allow the familiar to cast these spells or use spell-trigger or spell completion magic items.

Charm Person (Sp): At 1st level, a Witch’s familiar grants its master the ability to cast Charm Person as a spell like ability once per day.

Deliver Touch Spells (Su): If a Witch is 3rd level or higher, her familiar can deliver touch spells for her. If the Witch and the familiar are in contact at the time the Witch casts a touch spell, she can designate her familiar as the “toucher.” The familiar can then deliver the touch spell just as the Witch would. As usual, if the Witch casts another spell before the touch is delivered, the touch spell dissipates.

Calm Emotions (Sp): If the master is 3rd level or higher, a Witch’s familiar grants its master the ability to cast Calm Emotions as a spell like ability once per day.

Speak with Master (Ex): If the master is 5th level or higher, a familiar and the master can communicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.

Suggestion (Sp): If the master is 5th level or higher, a Witch’s familiar grants its master the ability to cast Suggestion as a spell like ability once per day.

Speak with Animals of Its Kind (Ex): If the master is 7th level or higher, a familiar can communicate with animals of approximately the same kind as itself (including dire varieties): bats with bats, cats with felines, hawks and owls and ravens with birds, lizards and snakes with reptiles, monkeys with other simians, rats with rodents, toads with amphibians, and weasels with ermines and minks. Such communication is limited by the Intelligence of the conversing creatures.

Dominate Person (Sp): If the master is 7th level or higher, a Witch’s familiar grants its master the ability to cast Dominate Person as a spell like ability once per day.

Charm Monster (Sp): If the master is 9th level or higher, a Witch’s familiar grants its master the ability to cast Charm Monster as a spell like ability once per day.

Spell Resistance (Ex): If the master is 11th level or higher, a familiar gains spell resistance equal to the master's level + 5. To affect the familiar with a spell, another spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the familiar's spell resistance.

Mass Suggestion (Sp): If the master is 11th level or higher, a Witch’s familiar grants its master the ability to cast Mass Suggestion as a spell like ability once per day.

Scry on Familiar (Sp): If the master is 13th level or higher, she may scry on her familiar (as if casting the scrying spell) once per day.

Mass Suggestion (Sp): If the master is 13th level or higher, a Witch’s familiar grants its master the ability to cast Mass Suggestion as a spell like ability once per day.

True Domination (Sp): If the master is 15th level or higher, a Witch’s familiar grants its master the ability to cast True Domination as a spell like ability once per day.

Dominate Monster (Sp): If the master is 17th level or higher, a Witch’s familiar grants its master the ability to cast Dominate Monster as a spell like ability once per day.

Monstrous Thrall (Sp): If the master is 19th level or higher, a Witch’s familiar grants its master the ability to cast Monstrous Thrall as a spell like ability once per day.

Apocryphos
2013-08-15, 07:45 PM
Thanks for sharing, really interesting read.

Gadzooks27
2013-08-20, 03:26 AM
Sorry nobody's peached this yet. I'll get to it later, personally. Yes I agree with the Druid stance. Other than that, this has some powerful class features. For example, Improved Brew Cauldron is freaking ridiculous. Don't trust most home brew. If the witch DID get such a feat, it wouldn't be til at least level 17.
I won't go into the why's right now; too tired.
Anyway, I'll examine all of this later- I've been meaning to make a witch class but didn't know where to start other than "arcane Druid". Thank you for this.
Night.

Gadzooks27
2013-08-20, 03:27 AM
Oh and site each of the non-core spells please. That's easier.

DecimalPoint
2013-08-20, 05:01 AM
Improved Brew Cauldron is freaking ridiculous. Don't trust most home brew. If the witch DID get such a feat, it wouldn't be til at least level 17.

OK, how would you change it? bear in mind that I'd like to avoid dead levels if at all possible

Also, please explain why getting the feat at 5th level is powerful? because you're still limited to spells you know?


Oh and site each of the non-core spells please. That's easier.

Do you mean mark the non-core ones? (All the spells are either in Players' Handbook or spell compendium as noted in the thread).

But thanks for your (preliminary) feedback.

TheifofZ
2013-08-20, 04:06 PM
I'm just going to cut straight to the point on this. I really like the idea, but I see a few things that don't quite feel right to me.

(I was trying to avoid dead levels)

This right here? Isn't necessary. Witches have full casting progression, so class abilities are the icing and cherry on the cake. They shouldn't be the focus. Don't be afraid of having the occasional level that doesn't have anything but spells and BAB/Save increases.


This rewrite assumes a house rule where all full casters use Wisdom and Intelligence as main stats; Wisdom to determine DCs and Intelligence to determine bonus spells (this is to try to balance magic by making it more MAD like the melee classes)
Rather than a house rule making every caster MAD, changing some and drastically rewriting others, simply apply the rule to this class alone.


[SPOILER]
Hex (Su): at 2nd level, a witch has started to unlock her power to weaken foes. As a full round action, a witch can target one creature within short range (25ft + 5ft/2 levels) and attempt to place a hex on it. The creature takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, damage rolls, ability checks, skill checks and saving throws (a successful Will save (DC 10 + witch’s wisdom modifier) negates this effect). This penalty increases by 2 every four witch levels. The duration is permanent. The hex requires a line of sight to the target and has vocal and somatic components. A creature can only be targeted once per day with this ability and the witch can only have one hexed target at a time; if a new target is hexed, the previous target’s hex is lifted.

Now this is the real meat of what I wanted the witch to do. To me, 'hex' says Detrimental with a capital "D". Looking at the PF hexes, there's some nice debuffs, but a few team buffs too, and that felt like it was contradicting what the word "Hex" meant. So I changed it to be a single, powerful debuff which scales with level, like the rogue's sneak attack. I used the spell "Greater Bestow Curse" as a reference. Namely starting off weaker but surpassing it in power by the mid-high teen levels. This ability defines the witch for me.
If this is the bread and butter ability you're looking to add, you might want to reduce the casting time, and increase the number of targets, or total hexes running, at later levels. A full round action, will negates, single target, moderate debuff isn't really going to be worth casting at higher levels, except against bosses, and early on the Full Round cast time kind of cripples it's usefulness.
Also, the Save DC should be 10+1/2 Witch level+Wisdom, rather than 10+Wis. Otherwise, at level 10, with minmaxed Wisdom, the Hex will be looking at a DC of 17~. By comparison, the spells she learns at 10th level will have a DC of 22. Her 9th level spells should have a save of 10+9+~9, or 28, but in comparison, by the time she learns her 9th level spells, the Hex will have a DC of... 19. Yup. That's pretty low at level 18.


Improved Brew Potion (Ex): at 5th level, a witch gains Improved Brew Potion as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites for it. In addition, the witch only needs to pay half of the standard XP cost (I.e. 1/50 of the gp cost).
As mentioned above, be careful about home brew rules, and while I don't agree on the level 17 thing, it's definitely a strong ability that definitely shouldn't be available at level 5. Maybe level 15?



Camouflage (Ex): a witch of 7th level or higher can use the hide skill in any sort of natural terrain, even if the terrain doesn’t provide cover or concealment.
It's basically hide in plain sight while in natural terrain (Which is basically 3/5ths of the time). Not sure something like that belongs on a Caster, even if it makes sense, and there's no reason for it to be available this low. Possibly simply give a bonus to Hide, and allow hiding at full move speed with no penalty while in natural terrain instead.


Who put a Wild shape in?? :smalleek: Well, it's not as powerful as the druid's, you can only take the form of tiny or small animals, and you only get a maximum of 5/day. The benefit though, is the Witch's special abilities. For a long while I was trying to find a way to limit her powers so she can't spam things like her cackle ability (which could be very overpowered if she could) without making the Witch too SAD. Then it dawned on me that I could make it so she has to expend one of her wild shapes to use her nice abilities. This way she only uses any one ability (not counting the passive ones) a maximum of 5 times per day; making the wild shape and abilities draw from the same "pool" makes the class much more manageable.
Rather than making most of the abilities run off Wild Shape, meaning that some of the class abilities might never see use in favour of other class abilities simply because of Power to Resource ratio (Cackle is awesome and might get used every other combat, but some people might never bother with the actual Wild Shape), you could simply apply a limit of #/day based on levels for the other class abilities. Which -could- also help fill out some of those "dead" levels.


Master Hexer (capstone, Su): at 20th level a witch is so adept at weakening foes that her Hex ability improves further. The witch now only needs a line of effect to target a creature for a hex, she can forego the verbal and somatic components (albeit at a -4 penalty on the DC). The DC increases to 15 + the witch’s wisdom modifier and finally the witch can hex maximum of 2 creatures at a time (she can only target any one creature a maximum of once per day).

As I already said, the way Hex is currently set up, the base save is woefully weak. I do like the idea of, as a capstone, adding a gratuitous +5, though if the save is adjusted to increase it's effectiveness, then you might want to drop that to +3, since it's no longer needed.

Edit: Familiar rules, stats, bonuses, etc? We need to see those too. (Since you included Enhance Familiar on the spell list)

DecimalPoint
2013-08-20, 04:48 PM
Wow.
You've, You've really given this a good peaching haven't you?
Before I read your post, I was rather pleased with the Witch, but now I see it needs some work.
Instead of replying to your replies on the various features and what not, I'll just say that in short, I completely agree with all of what you say.

Well, except the improved brew potion thing; can someone please explain to me why it's too powerful for that level? :smallconfused:

Gadzooks27
2013-08-20, 11:51 PM
Witch’s Familiar (Ex): At 1st level, a witch forms a close bond with a familiar, a creature that teaches her magic and helps to guide her along her path. Familiars also aid a witch by granting her skill bonuses, additional spells, and help with some types of magic. See below for more information.
A witch must commune with her familiar each day to prepare her spells. Familiars store all of the spells that a witch knows, and a witch cannot prepare a spell that is not stored by her familiar. A witch’s familiar begins play storing five 0-level witch spells plus three 1st level spells of the witch’s choice. The witch also selects a number of additional 1st-level spells equal to her Intelligence modifier to store in her familiar. At each new witch level, she adds two new spells of any spell level or levels that she can cast (based on her new witch level) to her familiar. A witch can also add additional spells to her familiar through a special ritual.

-Since this was clearly taken from PF, it should be noted that the witch’s familiar was built for a more powerful world with less monetary dependency. It is also important to note that part of what keeps the wizard in check is the gold and xp cost of scribing new spells to his book. Therefore, I believe that to some level, you need a grimmoire or spell book in which to store spells. HOWEVER, I know that the listed witch spells are limited to the witch spell list. SO, if I get the thumbs down to this particular Negative, I’ll leave it alone.

Hex (Su): at 2nd level, a witch has started to unlock her power to weaken foes. As a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity, a witch can target one creature within short range (25ft + 5ft/2 levels) and attempt to place a hex on it. The creature takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, damage rolls, ability checks, skill checks and saving throws (a successful Will save (DC 10 + witch’s level + witch’s wisdom modifier) negates this effect). This penalty increases by 2 every four witch levels. The duration is permanent. The hex requires a line of sight to the target and has vocal and somatic components. A creature can only be targeted once per day with this ability and at any one time, the witch can have a number of hexed targets equal to half her Witch level. Any new hexes that are successfully placed remain, but previous hexes are lifted, starting with the eldest hex.

I have way too many problems with this. Firstly, the hex should never be “permanent”, since it’s an ability you get at 2nd level. This is the Hexblade’s curse: “Once per day, as a free action, a hexblade can unleash a curse upon a foe. The target must be visible to the hexblade and within 60 feet. The target of a hexblade’s curse takes a –2 penalty on attacks, saves, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls for 1 hour thereafter. A successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 hexblade’s class level + hexblade’s Cha modifier) negates the effect. At every four levels beyond 1st (5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th) a hexblade gains the ability to use his curse one additional time per day, as indicated on Table 1–1. Multiple hexblade’s curses don’t stack, and any foe that successfully resists the effect cannot be affected again by the same hexblade’s curse for 24 hours.
Any effect that removes or dispels a curse eliminates the effect of a hexblade’s curse.” Note that the only increase throughout this entire class regarding the hexblade’s curse at every 4 levels is the number of uses per day.

Now observe the Greater Hexblade’s Curse: “Greater Hexblade’s Curse (Su): When a hexblade attains 7th level, the penalty on attacks, saves, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls incurred by a target of the hexblade’s curse becomes –4 instead of –2.” And again at level 19, this increases to a -6 penalty with Dire Hexblade’s Curse. I believe you should work it that way, where you don’t overpower every freaking thing that moves.

Flight (Su): at 5th level, a witch can fly, as per the spell, for a number of minutes per day equal to her (character) level. These minutes do not need to be consecutive, but they must be spent in 1-minute increments. This ability only affects the witch.

-Just put the fly spell on your list, level 3 as normal. I mean you already have wildshape, so a natural affinity for air travel can be a player’s choice when choosing their wild shape. The reason this was a hex in the pathfinder version was because flight was a key element in certain combat scenes. You don’t need this. It’s excessive.

Slumber (Su): A witch can cause a creature within 30 feet to fall into a deep, magical sleep, as per the spell sleep. The creature receives a Will save to negate the effect. If the save fails, the creature falls asleep for a number of rounds equal to the witch’s level. This hex can affect a creature of any HD. The creature will not wake due to noise or light, but others can rouse it with a standard action. This hex ends immediately if the creature takes damage. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day. A Witch can use this ability once per day at 7th level, then an additional time per day at every 4 Witch levels thereafter (twice at 11th level, thrice at 15th etc).

-Again, just use the spell sleep. Also, Hiss of Sleep (SpC) does the same exact thing with no HD limit, and it’s a level 7 arcane spell.

Camouflage (Ex): while in natural terrain, a witch gains a hide bonus equal to her wisdom modifier. Also, she can move at her full base speed (armour and status effects permitting).

-Please reword this so that I know what you mean when you say “she can move her full base speed”. Perhaps instead say, “While in natural terrain, a witch can move at her full base speed (armor and status effects permitting). In such terrain, the witch also gains a hide bonus equal to her wisdom modifier.”

Ward (Su): A witch can use this ability to place a protective ward over one creature. The warded creature receives a +4 deflection bonus to AC and a +3 resistance bonus on saving throws. This ward lasts until the warded creature is hit or fails a saving throw. A witch knows when a warded creature is no longer protected. A witch can have only one ward active at a time. If the witch uses this ability again, the previous ward immediately ends. A witch cannot use this ability on herself.

-At least note what kind of action it takes to use this ability, and whether or not it can be used on yourself.

-Cackle is underpowered at lv 10, I believe, but we can look at that closer later. It’s just bizarre and out of place to me.

Improved Brew Potion- Okay, this still works at level 15. Sure. Especially since her spell list is limited.
Before I keep going, I will address why this ability is normally OP. A wizard or cleric with this feat, at any level above 11, has access to spells like Divine Power (Level 4 cleric spell) and Body of War (level 7 wiz, SpC) off the top of my head, which are meant to only enhance the caster’s otherwise crappy combat abilities. But a potion allows you to grant these powers to the magically inept; i.e., a Huge-sized, +6 to stength, DR 10/adamantine Barbarian with highly advanced rage and combat feats from many levels of barbarian training. However, I’m gonna check the witch spell list next to see how your spells will affect your party-mates.
Alright, I checked it out (I’m writing this all on Word before posting). I think Improved Brew Potion should be gained at level 13, given your list of spells, and that the prerequisites need to be met. These prereqs are not difficult to meet by level 13 for a witch, especially if she cares enough about brewing potions for this feature to matter.

Eternal Slumber (Su): A witch can touch a creature, causing it to drift off into a permanent slumber. The creature receives a Will save to negate this effect. If the save fails, the creature falls asleep and cannot be woken. The effect can only be removed with a wish or similar magic, although slaying the witch ends the effect. The witch can use this ability to poison food or drink, causing those who ingest it to make a save or fall into an eternal slumber. She can only have one such dose of poison at any one time, and it loses its potency after 1 minute if not consumed. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this ability again for 1 day. A witch can use this ability once at 16th level, and then gains an additional use per day at Witch levels 18 and 20.
-What is the will save defined by? That isn’t specified in this entry. I’m not a fan of this feature, but I won’t push for its removal or distortion for now. We have to see the big picture after some revision for now.

This is my list of issues so far. Some advice to help you along- 98% of homebrew is evil. Especially homebrew with new casting mechanics. So I thank you for keeping this simple. Also- Casters are considered overpowered even with 17-19 dead levels. Limiting your spell-casting abilities the way you have has made class feature-selections a bit tougher to figure out. Just remember that you’re a caster first.
Lastly, I may have missed this, but are you a divine caster? Or arcane?

DecimalPoint
2013-08-21, 04:59 AM
First of all, can you use quotes and spoilers in future please? It makes it easier on the eyes than reading a wall of text :smallsmile:



-Since this was clearly taken from PF, it should be noted that the witch’s familiar was built for a more powerful world with less monetary dependency. It is also important to note that part of what keeps the wizard in check is the gold and xp cost of scribing new spells to his book. Therefore, I believe that to some level, you need a grimmoire or spell book in which to store spells. HOWEVER, I know that the listed witch spells are limited to the witch spell list. SO, if I get the thumbs down to this particular Negative, I’ll leave it alone.

Personally, I like this mechanic and the witch spell list is limited with only 2 damage-dealing spells (and even then, one of them is SoD), So on this note, I'll keep this unless many other people agree with you.



The hex should never be “permanent”, since it’s an ability you get at 2nd level. This is the Hexblade’s curse <stats on hexblade's curse> I believe you should work it that way, where you don’t overpower every freaking thing that moves.

I agree with the permanency point; before I changed it the hex was limited to one hexed target at a time, with the cap increasing to two at 20th level. Now I have changed it so one can have multiple hexed targets, I can see that I simply failed to consider the duration. I'm happy with the progression though.



-Just put the fly spell on your list, level 3 as normal. I mean you already have wildshape, so a natural affinity for air travel can be a player’s choice when choosing their wild shape. The reason this was a hex in the pathfinder version was because flight was a key element in certain combat scenes. You don’t need this. It’s excessive.

Agreed, I never felt quite right about having it as a class feature, but it didn't bother me enough to change it.



Just use the spell sleep. Also, Hiss of Sleep (SpC) does the same exact thing with no HD limit, and it’s a level 7 arcane spell.

This is staying. This is an innate ability due to the witch's focus on enchantements. Also, the save scales with level (as the witch's level is taken into account for the save (well, it is now, missed that first time round)).


Please reword this so that I know what you mean when you say “she can move her full base speed”. Perhaps instead say, “While in natural terrain, a witch can move at her full base speed (armor and status effects permitting). In such terrain, the witch also gains a hide bonus equal to her wisdom modifier.”

*Yoink* Thank you :smallbiggrin:


Ward (Su):At least note what kind of action it takes to use this ability
Will do, forgot that too :smallredface:


and whether or not it can be used on yourself.

A witch cannot use this ability on herself.


Cackle is underpowered at lv 10, I believe, but we can look at that closer later. It’s just bizarre and out of place to me.
asdfghjkl I don't know where to put this. It seems overpowered when granted at low levels, but underpowered when granted at high levels, maybe if I granted it at a low level and spread out the uses per day more...


Eternal Slumber (Su): What is the will save defined by? That isn’t specified in this entry.

10+witch level + witch's wisdom mod, will add.


Also- Casters are considered overpowered even with 17-19 dead levels. Limiting your spell-casting abilities the way you have has made class feature-selections a bit tougher to figure out. Just remember that you’re a caster first.
Becoming more and more tempted to drop the Witch to a half caster (spell levels 0 through 6).


Lastly, I may have missed this, but are you a divine caster? Or arcane?

Spells: A witch casts arcane spells drawn from the witch spell list.

Gadzooks27
2013-08-21, 10:47 AM
Somebody please back me up on the hex progression- -8 to an enemy's EVERYTHING is so flat-out ridiculous that her lack of combat expertise doesn't matter- we all want a witch in our party.
Additional tip- if your home brew class feature makes you smile greedily as you write it, and when it's done you're saying "yes! That's awesome!", then it's most likely op.

I'd like to note that I've been brewing for about 3 years for 3.5, with some very successful material to date. I want you to know I'm not talking out of my ass when I point out this or that.

Debihuman
2013-08-21, 11:07 AM
Just take the spells out of the spoilers and put them in a line alphabetically. There's no reason these need to take up so much room.

O level spells: A by name, b by name, c by name. , etc. There aren't that many spells. Also, you should consider balancing the number of spells you have a each level a bit better. Some levels have a lot more spells than other levels.

I really dislike the spell progression. It shouldn't be more powerful than a druid's spell progression and I'd consider making it weaker than wizard's spell progression. There are no reason you should be able to cast six 0-to-3rd levels spells at 20th level, considering all the other abilities this class has.

Debby

DecimalPoint
2013-08-21, 12:08 PM
-8 to an enemy's EVERYTHING is so flat-out ridiculous that her lack of combat expertise doesn't matter- we all want a witch in our party.

When you put it like that I see your point... but when I initially wrote this it was meant to be a single powerful debuff on one enemy. Now that I've been told that it'll only be useful for boss monsters I've changed it to wis mod (from 3 + wis mod from half level) targets. I don't know what the ability wants to do now. It used to be, "you there, you're useless until I decide you're not, or you're dead." But with the various tweaks the ability has just been mushed up and lost sight of its purpose. I'm loathe to decrease the penalty from -10 because to me that just seems counter-intuitive. Maybe if I just limit the things it penalises... or let the witch choose a type of debuff hex, one that penalises checks (at the full -10) and another that penalises rolls and throws (at a reduced penalty say -5)?



I'd like to note that I've been brewing for about 3 years for 3.5, with some very successful material to date. I want you to know I'm not talking out of my ass when I point out this or that.

I'm not saying you are, but what I will say is that I value your opinion (and indeed the opinion of anyone and everyone who posts), otherwise I wouldn't post this brew to begin with; I'd sit in a corner all on my own and say to myself that my witch class is perfect. But it's not. It clearly needs work. I may not have brewed for as long as you have (read, pulling brews I like from the internet and using them in my games over the past decade) so when I balk at a suggestion, Maybe it's because I don't understand that there was a problem to begin with and therefore there's little chance I'll understand your solution.


Just take the spells out of the spoilers and put them in a line alphabetically. There's no reason these need to take up so much room...

Was actually trying to use the spoilers to save space... oops.


...Also, you should consider balancing the number of spells you have a each level a bit better. Some levels have a lot more spells than other levels.

Will have another look over.


I really dislike the spell progression. It shouldn't be more powerful than a druid's spell progression and I'd consider making it weaker than wizard's spell progression. There are no reason you should be able to cast six 0-to-3rd levels spells at 20th level, considering all the other abilities this class has.

Aha, reading my reply to Gadzooks, I'm going to say QED. That spell progression is actually a progression I'm currently using in some of my other brews I'm working on. I just copied and pasted without thinking.

Still appreciating the feedback guys, thanks ^_^

DecimalPoint
2013-08-21, 04:02 PM
There. Done a revision of the Witch,
I have changed:

Spell List
Dropped to half caster (bard's spell progression)
Changed to Spontaneous Caster
Removed slumber class feature
Removed endless slumber class feature
Split the hex into two options: -2 to all checks (i.e. ability and skill checks) progressing to -10 OR -1 on all rolls and throws (i.e. attack, damage and saving) progressing to -5
Familiar now grants the witch her spells each day
a witch may use another witch's familiar to get a new spell set for the day, but each spell has a 20% chance of not being learnt
A witch's familiar grants the witch charms and domination spell like abilities when it advances (to be used once per day).

Gadzooks27
2013-08-22, 12:09 AM
Witch's Familiar (as written so far)
A witch must commune with her familiar each day to prepare her spells. Familiars store all of the spells that a witch knows, and a witch cannot prepare a spell that is not stored by her familiar. A witch’s familiar begins play storing five 0-level witch spells plus three 1st level spells of the witch’s choice. The witch also selects a number of additional 1st-level spells equal to her Intelligence modifier to store in her familiar. At each new witch level, she adds two new spells of any spell level or levels that she can cast (based on her new witch level) to her familiar. A witch can also add additional spells to her familiar through a special ritual.
This contradicts your revised version.

Also, spell progression screws up at level two, level 0.

Hex (Su):
at 2nd level, a witch has started to unlock her power to weaken foes. As a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity, a witch can target one creature within short range (25ft + 5ft/2 levels) and attempt to place a hex on it. The creature takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, damage rolls, ability checks, skill checks and saving throws for one hour. A successful Will save (DC 10 + witch’s level + witch’s wisdom modifier) negates this effect. This penalty increases by 2 every four witch levels. The hex requires a line of sight to the target and has vocal and somatic components. A creature can only be targeted once per day with this ability and at any one time, the witch can have a number of hexed targets equal to her wisdom modifier. Any new hexes that are successfully placed remain, but previous hexes are lifted, starting with the eldest hex.
Please fix in the class features.

At second level, "Hex -1/-23".

DecimalPoint
2013-08-22, 03:52 AM
Fixed.

I'd updated the spells and familiar section but neglected to remember the hex and familiar class features.