Da Witch Doctor!


Advice


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Here's my character for an upcoming campaign. Serpents Skull.

Character Description:
Rambosa

This pot bellied freak of a man was outcast from his village at the age of seven. The elders believed he had brought a curse on them and that he was possessed by an ancient and evil wendu spirit known as 'Tokato' the master of deception and lies.

Branding his body with a horrific scar which he still keeps to this day, a long gouge across the side of his face they left him tied in the jungle of Mwangi to die.

Rambosa survived however, gnawing his way through his bonds and surviving on his own in the harsh wilderness. To cover his horrific face he used a wooden mask which later he would start to adorn with markings.

It was in this time of need that the ancient spirit Tokato made him self known to Rambosa, teaching him in the ways of the dark wendu magics that would allow him to survive.

Led by this super natural force Rambosa is asked to leave his jungle of Mwangi to seek out the source of his magic and abilities.

And here is the character:

Character:
Rambosa Level 1 human Scarred Witch Doctor

Patron: Tokato (Deception)

STR: 10
DEX: 14
CON: 20
INT: 10
WIS: 10
CHA: 8

Feats: 1) Racial Heritage Orc. 2) Improved initiative

Scarshield

Traits: Boarded at Mwangi, Reactionary

Now I wonder if I'd be better served by toughness or perhaps Ironhide? These might suit the character a bit better?

The other consideration I had was maybe Spell Focus conjuration and then Augment summoning later on.

I really like the idea of witch spells like 'vomit swarm' and I think they'll add a nice dimension to the character.

Any suggestions for a first level feat? Or am I right going with Improved Initiative.

Sex in advance

Dark Archive

Iced2k wrote:

Here's my character for an upcoming campaign. Serpents Skull.

** spoiler omitted **

And here is the character:

** spoiler omitted **

Now I wonder if I'd be better served by toughness or perhaps Ironhide? These might suit the character a bit better?

The other consideration I had was maybe Spell Focus conjuration and then Augment summoning later on.

I really like the idea of witch spells like 'vomit swarm' and I think they'll add a nice dimension to the character.

Any suggestions for a first level feat? Or am I right going with Improved Initiative.

Sex in advance

Whoa, buddy, I don't even KNOW you.

Improved Initiative or Toughness are both pretty awesome choices, but the fact of the matter is that you've got some reasonably good incentive (tons of HP from Con, Scarshield + Mage Armor for okay AC, very few spells to cast) to be trying to mix it up with a light crossbow or sling (or even a melee weapon), so I personally grabbed Toughness for my Half-orc Scarred Witch Doctor.

I think taking Toughness first, and grabbing either Extra Hex or Imp. Initiative at level 3 would be a good plan, as every caster likes having a high Initiative, but I think you should just go with what you like best.


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Are you focusing on Summoning? If so then you should probably snag Spell Focus: Conjuration and Augment Summoning as soon as you can.

Grand Lodge

Are you looking to be a Debuffer?


The witch makes a fantastic debuffer/buffer with Evil Eye, Misfortune and Fortune. Not to mention Sleep.


Thanks guys, yes I'm looking to be a debuffer but I also want to bring the pain if I need to and can't rely on my team mates.

A good mix of offensive casting and constant debuffing is what I'm after.

Grand Lodge

Prehensile Hair will make you able to bring the pain when needed.


Following your description of using debuffs combined with damage you should think about the rime spell metamagic.
And if you want to use it you should take magic lineage frost fall or ice storm as a trait.
Both spells deal damage even if the save is made and thus entangle the target if combined with rime spell.

I use that on my own scarred witch doctor and it's nice in terms of debuff and battlefield control.

Even if I have all those nice hexes to debuff my first two actions vs strong opponents are most of the time first a rimed spell followed by ray of exhaustion. Even if both his saves are successful he is entangled and fatigued.


Dotting for later.


blackbloodtroll wrote:
Prehensile Hair will make you able to bring the pain when needed.

I really am opposed to prehensile hair. It doesn't make much sense to me as powerful as I know it is, I just can't bring myself to use it


Umbranus wrote:

Following your description of using debuffs combined with damage you should think about the rime spell metamagic.

And if you want to use it you should take magic lineage frost fall or ice storm as a trait.
Both spells deal damage even if the save is made and thus entangle the target if combined with rime spell.

I use that on my own scarred witch doctor and it's nice in terms of debuff and battlefield control.

Even if I have all those nice hexes to debuff my first two actions vs strong opponents are most of the time first a rimed spell followed by ray of exhaustion. Even if both his saves are successful he is entangled and fatigued.

A smart idea, I wonder how much more use I could get out of it.

Grand Lodge

Iced2k wrote:
blackbloodtroll wrote:
Prehensile Hair will make you able to bring the pain when needed.
I really am opposed to prehensile hair. It doesn't make much sense to me as powerful as I know it is, I just can't bring myself to use it

Make sense in which way? Flavor? Rules? Verisimilitude? Build?


Flavour and reality...


Reality? Is he bald?


Iced2k wrote:
Umbranus wrote:

Following your description of using debuffs combined with damage you should think about the rime spell metamagic.

And if you want to use it you should take magic lineage frost fall or ice storm as a trait.
Both spells deal damage even if the save is made and thus entangle the target if combined with rime spell.

I use that on my own scarred witch doctor and it's nice in terms of debuff and battlefield control.

Even if I have all those nice hexes to debuff my first two actions vs strong opponents are most of the time first a rimed spell followed by ray of exhaustion. Even if both his saves are successful he is entangled and fatigued.

A smart idea, I wonder how much more use I could get out of it.

Let me know if you find something nice.

Something else about the Scarred witch doctor: We found the description of what the mask can and what it can't very unclear as so we decided to make it work like a bonded item that stores the spells in addition to what it does normally.
As a witch is really cripples if it is destroyed my gm ruled that even if it is a bonded item it has the normal familiar hp.

Before we found this compromise we kept on wondering about questions like:
what is the mask's int and wis score? What are its saves? Does it count as a familiar or a magic item? Which casterlevel has it? Has it the normal hardness and hp for a wooden mask (hardness 5 and hp 5). So you should think about this before you start playing the char and run into the same problem we did.


I thought only orcs could take the scarred witch doctor archetype?


Barong wrote:
I thought only orcs could take the scarred witch doctor archetype?

They usually are, but some people use either the half-orc racial trait or racial heritage (orcs) to get past some of the heavy roleplaying balancing factors for this archetype.


What hexes do you have so far? Getting Fortune and Cackle are pretty high priority.

Skill Focus then Eldritch Heritage is always cool, especially if you're allowed to grab Tough as Hell(Pit Touched Bloodline)which can give you a ton of CON..but that's if you go for a high level campaign, otherwise nah.


The mask counts as a bonded magic item. It only counts as a familiar only for the purpose of learning/refreshing spells. It isn't a sentient mask like the Oni Mask improved familiar; it's just a plain wooden mask that has magical properties.

As a side note, take a rank or two of Profession(Ventriloquism) and you can RP a witch doctor with multiple personalities who projects one of them onto the mask and has it "speak" using Ventriloquism and insist that the mask actually is sentient. You'll be a blast at children's birthday parties.

Grand Lodge

Iced2k wrote:
Flavour and reality...

Animated Dreadlocks, and remember, it's magic.

I suppose you could ask your DM if you can reflavor them as fleshy tendrils that grow from your body. Same effect, different feel.


Why does everyone like the prehensile hair so much? I guess I just don't understand it's power...

Grand Lodge

Ishpumalibu wrote:
Why does everyone like the prehensile hair so much? I guess I just don't understand it's power...

Reach, and caster stat for damage/attack rolls.


blackbloodtroll wrote:
Iced2k wrote:
Flavour and reality...

Animated Dreadlocks, and remember, it's magic.

I suppose you could ask your DM if you can reflavor them as fleshy tendrils that grow from your body. Same effect, different feel.

Animated Fu Manchu.


I have a Bald Human Witch with prehensile hair that comes from his Fu Manchu(Spelling).

EDIT: I got Ninja'd...

So you are wanting a Debuffer build?


Kazaan wrote:

The mask counts as a bonded magic item. It only counts as a familiar only for the purpose of learning/refreshing spells. It isn't a sentient mask like the Oni Mask improved familiar; it's just a plain wooden mask that has magical properties.

As a side note, take a rank or two of Profession(Ventriloquism) and you can RP a witch doctor with multiple personalities who projects one of them onto the mask and has it "speak" using Ventriloquism and insist that the mask actually is sentient. You'll be a blast at children's birthday parties.

It is a logical HR, so we use it as well.

But the archetype nowhere states that this is the case.


Umbranus wrote:
Kazaan wrote:

The mask counts as a bonded magic item. It only counts as a familiar only for the purpose of learning/refreshing spells. It isn't a sentient mask like the Oni Mask improved familiar; it's just a plain wooden mask that has magical properties.

As a side note, take a rank or two of Profession(Ventriloquism) and you can RP a witch doctor with multiple personalities who projects one of them onto the mask and has it "speak" using Ventriloquism and insist that the mask actually is sentient. You'll be a blast at children's birthday parties.

It is a logical HR, so we use it as well.

But the archetype nowhere states that this is the case.

Surprisingly that is the easiest way to sum up the Fetish Mask(Su) feature.


blackbloodtroll wrote:
Ishpumalibu wrote:
Why does everyone like the prehensile hair so much? I guess I just don't understand it's power...
Reach, and caster stat for damage/attack rolls.

Secondary natural weapon, which means caster stat for attack but at -5 bab, and 1/2 caster stat to damage. No?

Grand Lodge

MyTThor wrote:
blackbloodtroll wrote:
Ishpumalibu wrote:
Why does everyone like the prehensile hair so much? I guess I just don't understand it's power...
Reach, and caster stat for damage/attack rolls.
Secondary natural weapon, which means caster stat for attack but at -5 bab, and 1/2 caster stat to damage. No?

Not if it's their only natural attack. Then it's Primary, and x1.5 for damage.

SKR agrees.

See SKR's post here.


Azaelas Fayth wrote:
Umbranus wrote:
Kazaan wrote:

The mask counts as a bonded magic item. It only counts as a familiar only for the purpose of learning/refreshing spells. It isn't a sentient mask like the Oni Mask improved familiar; it's just a plain wooden mask that has magical properties.

As a side note, take a rank or two of Profession(Ventriloquism) and you can RP a witch doctor with multiple personalities who projects one of them onto the mask and has it "speak" using Ventriloquism and insist that the mask actually is sentient. You'll be a blast at children's birthday parties.

It is a logical HR, so we use it as well.

But the archetype nowhere states that this is the case.
Surprisingly that is the easiest way to sum up the Fetish Mask(Su) feature.

A bonded item lets you once per day cast any one spell in your spellbook. Nothing in the description of the fetish mask hints to the scarred witch doctor being able to do that.

I really don't deny that it is a good thing to handle it. Just that the RAW is far from stating that this was what they wanted to say.


Umbranus wrote:

A bonded item lets you once per day cast any one spell in your spellbook. Nothing in the description of the fetish mask hints to the scarred witch doctor being able to do that.

I really don't deny that it is a good thing to handle it. Just that the RAW is far from stating that this was what they wanted to say.

Sorry, meant to state that it is that minus the Cast Spell 1/Day.


Thanks guys for this,

To clarify. Yes I am looking for a debuffer but also with some competent offence of his own. I'd like this to manifest via spells like 'vomit swarm' or ice storm.

I wonder if a Witch could be turned into a viable summoner. It would delay my extra hexes which I'm already behind on to get Spell Focus Conjuration and Augment Summoning.

Perhaps not worth it.


blackbloodtroll wrote:
MyTThor wrote:
blackbloodtroll wrote:
Ishpumalibu wrote:
Why does everyone like the prehensile hair so much? I guess I just don't understand it's power...
Reach, and caster stat for damage/attack rolls.
Secondary natural weapon, which means caster stat for attack but at -5 bab, and 1/2 caster stat to damage. No?

Not if it's their only natural attack. Then it's Primary, and x1.5 for damage.

SKR agrees.

See SKR's post here.

Even with that, it's still a physical attack on a low BAB full caster. What's the point?


Yeah, it sounds okay, but not great. You can't enchant it like a weapon right? I guess it's just for when you run out of spells??? Seems like witches have better things to be doing like putting monsters to sleep with their screeching voices.


Summoning wouldn't be to good on this build.

The following is fairly obvious:

Work on getting Rings of Wizardry/Pearls of Power.

Focus on obtaining some Blasting Spells and their wands.

Maybe use the spell Twilight Knife occasionally.

Grand Lodge

amorangias wrote:
blackbloodtroll wrote:
MyTThor wrote:
blackbloodtroll wrote:
Ishpumalibu wrote:
Why does everyone like the prehensile hair so much? I guess I just don't understand it's power...
Reach, and caster stat for damage/attack rolls.
Secondary natural weapon, which means caster stat for attack but at -5 bab, and 1/2 caster stat to damage. No?

Not if it's their only natural attack. Then it's Primary, and x1.5 for damage.

SKR agrees.

See SKR's post here.

Even with that, it's still a physical attack on a low BAB full caster. What's the point?

Deliver touch attacks, manipulate objects, threaten at reach, and lift objects with a strength score equal to your caster score.


Prehensile Hair is good for the utility. I usually pick it up after I get all the other Hexes I want/need for my build.


blackbloodtroll wrote:
MyTThor wrote:
blackbloodtroll wrote:
Ishpumalibu wrote:
Why does everyone like the prehensile hair so much? I guess I just don't understand it's power...
Reach, and caster stat for damage/attack rolls.
Secondary natural weapon, which means caster stat for attack but at -5 bab, and 1/2 caster stat to damage. No?

Not if it's their only natural attack. Then it's Primary, and x1.5 for damage.

SKR agrees.

See SKR's post here.

Hmm, cool. I'll have to see if I can fit that in with my witch doctor.

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