Making a Witcher

[foREVer_Lawliet]

Hi all,

I am planning on building a character based on Witchers form the Game The witcher. I've decided to go with fighter and multi-class into sorcerer. Has anyone tried playing a fighter/scorcerer, and if so how did it go?

Other point I should mention is that I don't need him to be doing anything incredible with spells, they are more a perk, rather than a big feature, so cantrips and level 1 spells should be fine.

And a question to top it off..... how is potion brewing in 5e? again, not a massive need but I would like to be able to make health potions etc.


Thanks for any help with this.

[Gwendol]

Isn't warlock better? I feel like hexes are a lot more like the spellcasting the witchers are described as having (contrasted with other casters in the books).

[SouthpawSoldier]

Can't answer the Witcher dilemma, but I have gone pretty in depth regarding potions and research into them lately.

TL/DR: skip to the recommended Homebrew at the end.

From my thread on the topic: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?411797-Clarification-of-Potion-Crafting-Non-spell-healing-economy




PHB crafting says 1/2 item cost in materials, + 1day's labor/5g value. However, the stated formula is for "non-magical objects"; Potion of Healing is a "common magical item". PHB also states Herbalist's Kit proficiency required. No further details. Using the formula, each potion requires 25g +10 days per potion/vial of antitoxin (non-magical item of equal cost).

DMG says crafting common magical items requires caster level 3, and 50g-100g per item, +1 day's labor/25g value.

The Sage Advice post on the topic: http://www.sageadvice.eu/2014/12/05/potion-time-and-cost/ ; suggest 50g +2 day's labor; doesn't outright state it though.

Commentary from Jeremy Crawford suggest that production of magical items (e.g. potions) is rare (not really a "common" magical item after all, is it?). Using these rules, a potion crafter is working at a loss; selling potions at cost, and wasting 2 days better spent on more profitable ventures. Unless NPC vendors are mass-producing potions and getting a deal on ingredients, there's no economical reason for potions to exist.

Summation; what are the requirements for PC's to craft potions? Also; 10 days to brew anti-toxin?


Potion, Healer feat w/ Kit, and Spell-less Ranger Poultice Comparison


Method
HP
Frequency
Cost


Potions
2d4+2 [7]
Action to drink/apply; inventory
50g in shop; Craft ???


Healer's Kit
1d6+4+Target's HD [7.5+HD]
Once per Target per Rest
5g/10 use kit


Poultice
1d6/2 Preparer Level (round up)*
WIS mod/day; takes one minute to apply, 1hr/day to resupply
Foraging/ DM discretion


*Starts at 3rd; avg 14hp, +7HP every odd level. At 9th level, removes one poison condition in addition to healing.



The answer was that I had misunderstood the "consumables=1/2 cost" commentary. I had interpreted it as potions being on the low end of the 50g-100g scale (50g being 1/2 of 100g), when it was actually 1/2 of the low end.

So to craft Potions of Healing:
Caster level 3rd
Ability to cast equivalent spell
Proficiency and possession of Herbalist's Kit (for Potions of Healing)
Chemical Formula for potion*
Apply DMG formula, with healing potions being 1/2 of 50g-100g value

*DMG goes on about magical item crafting formula being a MacGuffin (quest purpose) or a quest Reward. Instead, I recommend the additional option I mention further down+.

You may want to look into the aforementioned Poultices, if you're interested in the healing factor:

Poultices

At 3rd level, you can create special herbal poultices that have healing power comparable to some potions. You can spend 1 hour gathering herbs and preparing herbal poultices using treated bandages to create a number of such poultices equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1). You can carry a number of poultices at one time equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1). The poultices you create cannot be applied by anyone but you. After 24 hours, any poultices that you have not used lose their potency.

If you spend 1 minute applying one of your poultices to a wounded humanoid creature, thereby expending its use, that creature regains 1d6 hit points for every two ranger levels you have (rounded up).

Link to article: http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/modifying-classes




Another option, especially for the variety of potions that Witchers produce, is this homebrew: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7CIGCMCtoETbEhVTy0zSnFJNEE/view

Discussion thread:
http://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/2yqrdv/5e_herbalism_alchemy_v10_fanmade_supplement/

And a Herbalism discussion thread:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?409450-Herbalist-Feat-homebrew&p=19114816

May not be much help, but guaranteed to eat up lots of your time reading it all, especially the Homebrew PDF link.

[Daishain]

Going to agree with Gwendol here. battlemaster Fighter with Warlock dip seems to be the best match. (at least mechanically, going to need to do something about the pact for the fluff)

Definitely going to need houseruling to get the potions in there, the current system is quite anemic. Southpaw's stuff looks good, though I haven't checked it thoroughly.

[Eisenheim]

Vengeance paladin? Witchers get supernatural power ups and while they hunt monsters, they're not nice. Seems like a good fit to me.

[SouthpawSoldier]

Credit where credit is due. I only found the homebrew when trying to answer the same question myself. The rest are official rules and clarifications that I collected into one post. Glad to see I'm not the only one puzzled by the rules; means the problem is the writing, not my cognitive ability or comprehension.

For analysis of the Hebrew piece, read the Reddit thread where it was originally posted. I really like the feel and flavor of it, though it may,bog a game down some.

[Gwendol]

I also thought about the vengeance paladin, fluff aside, does it work better than a warlock? It's the at-will powers that tempts me.