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I deliberately avoided "slumber" for the same reason I avoid most overpowered options. Because they tend to become the character's hammer and everything sort of looks like a nail.Is your gravewalker witch your party's only arcane caster? My witch is the only arcane caster in our group. If she were not, I might have skipped it altogether, and would almost certainly have waited several levels before considering it.
Honestly, that sounds like a crock to me. You're in no way required to use Slumber, ever. My Witch won't ever even take it, because it's just absolutely not his style.
If you look at it, and the only argument you can come up with is that it's the mechanically most optimal option, whatever. That's your choice. But there isn't a clause in the rules that claims you're killing your friends if you go with a less powerful option. Will I be using Misfortune, Evil Eye and Cackle a lot? Absolutely. But I also intend to use Flight, Prehensile Hair and other Hexes, too.
Besides, what fun is a fight where you just put the bad guy to sleep in the first round? Where's the challenge?
I deliberately avoided "slumber" for the same reason I avoid most overpowered options. Because they tend to become the character's hammer and everything sort of looks like a nail.Is your gravewalker witch your party's only arcane caster? My witch is the only arcane caster in our group. If she were not, I might have skipped it altogether, and would almost certainly have waited several levels before considering it.
Yes, my witch is the only arcane caster.
Prehensile hair is a SECONDARY natural attack. It takes a -5 penalty to hit and gains damage bonus equal to HALF the appropriate stat (INT). Unless one takes a certain archtype from an obscure, Golarion-specific book that costs a witch ALL of their hexes. At higher levels, once one has a chance to pump INT a bit, that's probably still a better means of delivering touch attacks, but...
If a creature has only one natural attack, it is always made using the creature's full base attack bonus and adds 1-1/2 the creature's Strength bonus on damage rolls.
If a creature has only one natural attack, it is always made using the creature's full base attack bonus and adds 1-1/2 the creature's Strength bonus on damage rolls.Yeah, read the part below that:
This increase does not apply if the creature has multiple attacks but only takes one.The witch has the capacity to make weapon attacks, even if (s)he chooses not to.
In the context of that statement it was clearly referring to natural attacks, not weapon attacks.
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If a creature has only one natural attack, it is always made using the creature's full base attack bonus and adds 1-1/2 the creature's Strength bonus on damage rolls.Yeah, read the part below that:
This increase does not apply if the creature has multiple attacks but only takes one.The witch has the capacity to make weapon attacks, even if (s)he chooses not to.
The rest of its attacks are not natural attacks, so it can be argued that it only means you can't do this if you have more than one natural attack, not that you have more than one attack, period.
Is that necessarily true? I can't say. That's up to the DM to decide.
Under the heading of natural attacks. Similar general wording of attacks is used throughout that section yet they clearly are talking about natural attacks. To apply them to other forms of attack is ridiculous.
If a creature has only one type of attack, but has multiple attacks per round, that attack is treated as a primary attack, regardless of its type.
Are you saying that if I can attack with two weapons but only choose to use one I still get str x 1.5 to damage because it's treated as "primary?" I'd hardly think so because that entire section is talking about natural attacks.
You're in no way required to use Slumber, ever. My Witch won't ever even take it, because it's just absolutely not his style.
Style is a valid choice. It's why my witch will never have Prehensile Hair.
Style is a valid choice. It's why my witch will never have Prehensile Hair.You're in no way required to use Slumber, ever. My Witch won't ever even take it, because it's just absolutely not his style.
Indeed, the winter witch I'm making will not be taking prehensile hair or slumber. It's all going to be evil eye, missfortune, cackle and I think she'll still be able to contibute just fine.
I will admit to ice tomb being my first planned majot hex though.
- Torger
- Wizards are the battlefield control experts. Witches, on the other hand, are the undisputed masters of debuffing. So for all intelligent foes, taking down the witch is going to be the first goal. That's a huge con right there.
- Other cons are not having as many protection spells as wizards nor as many healing spells as clerics.
- Witches suck against the undead or other non-living things. Most of their hexes don't work and they have few spells that are effective.
- Keeping your spell book in a little animal that can be easily killed is also a con.
- Your feats are almost all going to be Extra Hex (multiple times), Split Hex, and Accursed Hex. (If not, they should.)
- Like the other pure casters, they are helpless in an anti-magic zone. Not only spells, but most of their hexes will not work either.
- Some of their hexes and spells require extra setup to work as well as relying on failed saves. For example, You need downtime to make poisoned apples and then you cast Beguiling Gift and the target needs to fail the Will save.
- If you are a good-aligned witch, some of the best witch hexes are meant exclusively for evil witches and none are meant exclusively for good witches.
- Very few area-effect hexes and spells; most only affect single targets. So witches are weak against a large number of foes unless they can get to a boss creature.
- If something saves against all your best hexes, you are probably in a lot of trouble.
- Lot of disease spells that are useless against things immune to diseases.
- There may be other effects depending on the campaign world. Often, witches are distrusted or hated.
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Witches can cast swarms blueluck
Yes, that's true. Witches can both summon and vomit swarms.
Unfortunately, they aren't very good at killing swarms because they lack AOE damage spells.
And, since you don't control a swarm for long, after ceasing to concentrate, that means cast it then RUN LIKE HELL.
1. Horrible spell list. I'd even go as far as to say that witches have the worst spell list of all the caster classes.
2. Access to hexes are too limited. You'll want half of the minor hexes just to increase your witchyness; claws, water breathing, etc. but will be stuck choosing others because you don't want to start the game with those hexes. I, personally, would like to see some of those automatically added as class features. Then, the hexes you do have are, are one save away from being useless against everything you fight. Not a big deal for fighting the smaller stuff, but incredibly aggravating when BBEG renders your signature moves useless until you or him are dead.
When you are using all of your feats for extra hexes there's something lacking in the basic design of the class. And w/o the extra hex feat I don't think anyone would play a witch for long.
3. Useless against undead. At least for the first levels. Even then, your hexes are still mostly useless vs. undead. Which is odd, for a witch. Course, I also see witches as zapping people with lightning in addition to making people laugh/sleep.
4. IMHO, the class should have been a mid-B.A.B. class with more hexes to offset the lack of higher lvl spells. Witches, after all, are THE "come and get you" casters of the spell using classes.
I'm not saying they can't be fun, especially if the antagonist/s in your game aren't immune to you by default. I'm saying you will be left wanting a lot of the time.
Anyway, that's my 2 c.p.
They get quite a few electricity-based spells as they level. About 5 or 6 total, iirc.
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If you are a good-aligned witch, some of the best witch hexes are meant exclusively for evil witches and none are meant exclusively for good witches.
I only see one that's clearly listed as evil: Cook people. The only other one I could see counting as evil would be Nightmares (because it acts as a spell that has the evil descriptor).
Child Scent is just creepy but not evil.
Paragon surge any extra hexes you may need at a time. Only select ones as you level that are must haves for your concept.
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I only see one that's clearly listed as evil: Cook people. The only other one I could see counting as evil would be Nightmares (because it acts as a spell that has the evil descriptor).[list]
If you are a good-aligned witch, some of the best witch hexes are meant exclusively for evil witches and none are meant exclusively for good witches.
No, these don't have the evil descriptor, but it is obvious they would be only used by the evil-aligned:
BlightCoven
Cook People
And the questionable ones like child-scent, death curse, and poison-steep.
Other ones are just plain vindictive and nasty, but not necessarily evil like Agony, Dire Prophecy, and Infected Wounds.
And where are the good witch hexes? <crickets> Uhmm, I guess Healing is good, right? Unless you heal yourself or your evil minions. And uhm. . . . yeah.