LichPlease
2018-07-04, 02:30 PM
The Witch is one of my favorite classes in Pathfinder. It’s a full 9th level intelligence-based caster with a large list of at-will abilities you can pick from called hexes. From my play experience, hexes are good enough that Paizo could have easily justified making the class into a 6th level caster. Also, they were a prepared caster that used a familiar instead of a book for their spells and Witches were granted their powers from a patron. So, a 9th level intelligence-based caster with a list of separate magical abilities in the form of buffs, debuffs and utility that you can pick from to add more customization to your character as well as access to a familiar, all while gaining power from a patron. That probably sounds like a Wizard/Warlock multiclass for 5e and that is what I will use to try to convert the Pathfinder Witch to 5e without any homebrewing.
First, I’m going to go a little bit more in-depth on what made the Witch unique. Mechanically, hexes may have started as just a nice little bonus to make the Witch unique from the Wizard but with the right picks, you could go the entire adventuring day using only the hexes and never spending a single spell slot. They generally came in the form of debuffs that could stack, buffs and some healing and some useful utility. The best of these off top of my head were Misfortune (disadvantage on just about any d20 roll), Fortune (advantage on any roll that Misfortune could affect), Sleep (you just put a dude to sleep….at-will….for just an action), and Flight (you could fly….at-will….for free). Each of these were available by level 5 at the latest! That on top of 9th level casting was just great. But the Witch’s spell list wasn’t shared with the Wizard. They had a somewhat unconventional spell list which I actually liked a lot once I understood the Witch more. Witch’s typically don’t have access to blaster spells like Fireball. In fact, they were very limited on spells of the abjuration, evocation and illusion schools. Strangely, divination wasn’t one of their stronger schools either. They were focused on conjuration, enchantment, necromancy and transmutation. They were focused on control, support and utility and hardly ever damage. Even their focus on necromancy centered around spells like Bestow Curse and not raising the undead. Again, the witch was also a prepared caster but used a familiar to store spells instead of a spell book. This was very nice to have the utility of a familiar as a scout and such until the moment when your familiar was ambushed or set off a trap and died. Then you were pretty much lost access to preparing anymore spells for the day. So, most Witch’s would play it safe and keep their familiar with them so it ultimately had no mechanical difference to a Wizard’s spell book. The archetypal Witch was somewhat of an enchantress that focused on the darker themes of nature, the divine, the feywild and the arcane. Witch’s weren’t necessarily evil, just spooky.
So, I think I have made it quite obvious now that a Warlock/Wizard multiclass would be the best fit for an attempt to replicate a Witch through official sources. The following is what I find would be the best outline for a typical Witch at level 10.
Class:
Warlock 5/Wizard 5
You definitely want to have at least 5 levels in Warlock and Wizard. This is mainly because having the ability to cast a greater variety of higher level spells from the Wizards list with your Warlock spell slot recharge rate is awesome. After this, it’s up to you on what class you want to lean towards or if you want it to remain balanced, but it will likely be hard to choose.
Race:
Race really doesn’t matter, but you probably want to get some sort of bonus to at least one of your casting stats. Human is versatile, Half-Elf gives CHA and +1 to 2 other stats and Tieflings, Dark Elves and Yuan-Ti buff INT and CHA.
Background:
Background should stay on theme but it’s also something that is often easily ignored by the more mechanically driven.
Ability Scores:
Ability scores are going to need to be a bit min maxed. You’ll need those casting stats and need to sacrifice survivability more so than typical casters.
INT and CHA are your highest priority since they are your casting stats.
DEX and CON should be decent for survivability.
STR and WIS can be dumped as you are not a fighter and you probably weren’t very wise to enter a pact with an otherworldly being in exchange for power.
Otherworldly Patron:
A typical Witch would easily go best with the Archfey Patron. However, if you want to be more of the devil worshipping type, the Fiend is good too. Any other patron is going to start going a bit off the rails in terms of theme but it’s not totally unreasonable.
Pact Boon:
Pact of the Chain is pretty much non-negotiable. You already get ritual casting as a Wizard and you won’t be going into melee. Plus, Pathfinder Witches always had a familiar so why not get the best options available.
Arcane Tradition:
As much as I can find an argument for other Arcane Schools (except abjuration, evocation and illusion), the School of Enchantment is what I’m going to go with for the best, due to Hypnotic Gaze. This functions very similarly to many of the debuff hexes of the Pathfinder Witch. It’s at-will, free to use and can’t target the same creature for a day after it’s worn off. It doesn’t not as debilitating as being paralyzed or stunned but if it were, it would be broken. This is why I suggest against Eldritch Blast for this build. Hypnotic Gaze should be your go to action when you don’t want to/can’t spend spell slots.
Skill Proficiencies:
Pick something on theme. You probably are knowledgeable on natural, divine and arcane forces. You are probably also either a very charming or intimidating person.
Feats:
There are no glaringly obvious choices here and since you’re a bit MAD it might be better to just stick with ASIs. War Caster is usually always a good choice though.
Invocations:
These are essentially what are standing in for your hexes. There are so many options that could be justified for this type of character. With Hypnotic Gaze, this is a good time to ignore Eldritch Blast and any of the invocations that buff it.
Spells:
Just pick stuff on theme. Remember, the Pathfinder Witch excels at: enchantment, necromancy, conjuration and transmutation. One particular spell I want to emphasize is Bestow Curse. This with the Warlock spell slot recharge rate is amazing and mechanically parallels the original Witch.
I know this was all open-ended but this was not meant to be a strict build but a guide on how to remake a Pathfinder Witch from the official 5e rules.
Thank you. I hope you enjoyed. If you have any input or suggestions, let me know.
First, I’m going to go a little bit more in-depth on what made the Witch unique. Mechanically, hexes may have started as just a nice little bonus to make the Witch unique from the Wizard but with the right picks, you could go the entire adventuring day using only the hexes and never spending a single spell slot. They generally came in the form of debuffs that could stack, buffs and some healing and some useful utility. The best of these off top of my head were Misfortune (disadvantage on just about any d20 roll), Fortune (advantage on any roll that Misfortune could affect), Sleep (you just put a dude to sleep….at-will….for just an action), and Flight (you could fly….at-will….for free). Each of these were available by level 5 at the latest! That on top of 9th level casting was just great. But the Witch’s spell list wasn’t shared with the Wizard. They had a somewhat unconventional spell list which I actually liked a lot once I understood the Witch more. Witch’s typically don’t have access to blaster spells like Fireball. In fact, they were very limited on spells of the abjuration, evocation and illusion schools. Strangely, divination wasn’t one of their stronger schools either. They were focused on conjuration, enchantment, necromancy and transmutation. They were focused on control, support and utility and hardly ever damage. Even their focus on necromancy centered around spells like Bestow Curse and not raising the undead. Again, the witch was also a prepared caster but used a familiar to store spells instead of a spell book. This was very nice to have the utility of a familiar as a scout and such until the moment when your familiar was ambushed or set off a trap and died. Then you were pretty much lost access to preparing anymore spells for the day. So, most Witch’s would play it safe and keep their familiar with them so it ultimately had no mechanical difference to a Wizard’s spell book. The archetypal Witch was somewhat of an enchantress that focused on the darker themes of nature, the divine, the feywild and the arcane. Witch’s weren’t necessarily evil, just spooky.
So, I think I have made it quite obvious now that a Warlock/Wizard multiclass would be the best fit for an attempt to replicate a Witch through official sources. The following is what I find would be the best outline for a typical Witch at level 10.
Class:
Warlock 5/Wizard 5
You definitely want to have at least 5 levels in Warlock and Wizard. This is mainly because having the ability to cast a greater variety of higher level spells from the Wizards list with your Warlock spell slot recharge rate is awesome. After this, it’s up to you on what class you want to lean towards or if you want it to remain balanced, but it will likely be hard to choose.
Race:
Race really doesn’t matter, but you probably want to get some sort of bonus to at least one of your casting stats. Human is versatile, Half-Elf gives CHA and +1 to 2 other stats and Tieflings, Dark Elves and Yuan-Ti buff INT and CHA.
Background:
Background should stay on theme but it’s also something that is often easily ignored by the more mechanically driven.
Ability Scores:
Ability scores are going to need to be a bit min maxed. You’ll need those casting stats and need to sacrifice survivability more so than typical casters.
INT and CHA are your highest priority since they are your casting stats.
DEX and CON should be decent for survivability.
STR and WIS can be dumped as you are not a fighter and you probably weren’t very wise to enter a pact with an otherworldly being in exchange for power.
Otherworldly Patron:
A typical Witch would easily go best with the Archfey Patron. However, if you want to be more of the devil worshipping type, the Fiend is good too. Any other patron is going to start going a bit off the rails in terms of theme but it’s not totally unreasonable.
Pact Boon:
Pact of the Chain is pretty much non-negotiable. You already get ritual casting as a Wizard and you won’t be going into melee. Plus, Pathfinder Witches always had a familiar so why not get the best options available.
Arcane Tradition:
As much as I can find an argument for other Arcane Schools (except abjuration, evocation and illusion), the School of Enchantment is what I’m going to go with for the best, due to Hypnotic Gaze. This functions very similarly to many of the debuff hexes of the Pathfinder Witch. It’s at-will, free to use and can’t target the same creature for a day after it’s worn off. It doesn’t not as debilitating as being paralyzed or stunned but if it were, it would be broken. This is why I suggest against Eldritch Blast for this build. Hypnotic Gaze should be your go to action when you don’t want to/can’t spend spell slots.
Skill Proficiencies:
Pick something on theme. You probably are knowledgeable on natural, divine and arcane forces. You are probably also either a very charming or intimidating person.
Feats:
There are no glaringly obvious choices here and since you’re a bit MAD it might be better to just stick with ASIs. War Caster is usually always a good choice though.
Invocations:
These are essentially what are standing in for your hexes. There are so many options that could be justified for this type of character. With Hypnotic Gaze, this is a good time to ignore Eldritch Blast and any of the invocations that buff it.
Spells:
Just pick stuff on theme. Remember, the Pathfinder Witch excels at: enchantment, necromancy, conjuration and transmutation. One particular spell I want to emphasize is Bestow Curse. This with the Warlock spell slot recharge rate is amazing and mechanically parallels the original Witch.
I know this was all open-ended but this was not meant to be a strict build but a guide on how to remake a Pathfinder Witch from the official 5e rules.
Thank you. I hope you enjoyed. If you have any input or suggestions, let me know.