Nichang Fa's page

Refer to this post as Hexcrafter 6/WHW 2 from here onwards. I made a mistake and thought that Hexcrafters could take Extra Arcana at first level.

Nichang Fa wrote:

The witch can manipulate her hair a number of minutes each day equal to her level[Character Level?];

No. The text is talking about a class ability. Unless something SAYS character level it generally means class level.

Okay, got it. What about my other questions?

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I have created a Hexcrafter 1/White-Haired Witch 6 Samsaran with the Mythic Past Life racial trait to add the "Strangling Hair" spell to my magus spell list to be able to use it with spell combat. I have the "Prehensile Hair" hex and the "Natural Spell Combat" magus arcana. My archetype also gives me "White Hair".

My question is; do the three effects on my hair synergize, overlap or cancel each other out and when?

Perfect, that answers my question. As a follow up, though...

Natural Spell Combat (Ex)

Benefit: The magus can use his spell combat class feature with a natural attack of his choice. If he does, he gains a +2 bonus on concentration checks. If the natural attack is made with an appendage that would normally hold a weapon (such as a claw attack), the magus cannot wield a weapon in that appendage while making natural attacks with it. If the natural attack is a bite or other attack that does not require a free appendage to make, the magus can use the natural attack in addition to all of the attacks he could make with his melee weapon, if he has one.

A magus can select this arcana more than once. The bonus on concentration checks does not stack. Each time he selects this arcana, he selects another natural weapon. For example, a magus could select this arcana twice, choosing claw attacks and bite attacks. This would allow him to use a full-round action to make all of his claw attacks with his free hand and all of his bite attacks in addition to casting a spell. This arcana otherwise functions exactly like the spell combat class feature.

Prehensile Hair (Su)

Effect: The witch can instantly cause her hair (or even her eyebrows) to grow up to 10 feet long or to shrink to its normal length, and can manipulate her hair as if it were a limb with a Strength score equal to her Intelligence score. Her hair has reach 10 feet, and she can use it as a secondary natural attack that deals 1d3 points of damage (1d2 for a Small witch). Her hair can manipulate objects (but not weapons) as dexterously as a human hand.

The hair cannot be sundered or attacked as a separate creature. Pieces cut from the witch’s elongated hair shrink away to nothing. Using her hair does not harm the witch’s head or neck, even if she lifts something heavy with it. The witch can manipulate her hair a number of minutes each day equal to her level; these minutes do not need to be consecutive, but must be spent in 1-minute increments. A typical male witch with this hex can also manipulate his beard, moustache, or eyebrows.

White Hair (Su)

At 1st level, a white-haired witch gains the ability to use her hair as a weapon. This functions as a primary natural attack with a reach of 5 feet. The hair deals 1d4 points of damage (1d3 for a Small witch) plus the witch’s Intelligence modifier. In addition, whenever the hair strikes a foe, the witch can attempt to grapple that foe with her hair as a free action* without provoking an attack of opportunity, using her Intelligence modifier in place of her Strength modifier when making the combat maneuver check. When a white-haired witch grapples a foe in this way, she does not gain the grappled condition.

If I take Natural Spell Combat, do I need to specify what type of hair I'm taking the Magus Arcana for or does it apply to both? This as a White-Haired Witch with a Hexcrafter Magus dip.

Natural Spell Combat (Ex)

Benefit: The magus can use his spell combat class feature with a natural attack of his choice. If he does, he gains a +2 bonus on concentration checks. If the natural attack is made with an appendage that would normally hold a weapon (such as a claw attack), the magus cannot wield a weapon in that appendage while making natural attacks with it. If the natural attack is a bite or other attack that does not require a free appendage to make, the magus can use the natural attack in addition to all of the attacks he could make with his melee weapon, if he has one.

A magus can select this arcana more than once. The bonus on concentration checks does not stack. Each time he selects this arcana, he selects another natural weapon. For example, a magus could select this arcana twice, choosing claw attacks and bite attacks. This would allow him to use a full-round action to make all of his claw attacks with his free hand and all of his bite attacks in addition to casting a spell. This arcana otherwise functions exactly like the spell combat class feature.

Prehensile Hair (Su)

Effect: The witch can instantly cause her hair (or even her eyebrows) to grow up to 10 feet long or to shrink to its normal length, and can manipulate her hair as if it were a limb with a Strength score equal to her Intelligence score. Her hair has reach 10 feet, and she can use it as a secondary natural attack that deals 1d3 points of damage (1d2 for a Small witch). Her hair can manipulate objects (but not weapons) as dexterously as a human hand.

The hair cannot be sundered or attacked as a separate creature. Pieces cut from the witch’s elongated hair shrink away to nothing. Using her hair does not harm the witch’s head or neck, even if she lifts something heavy with it. The witch can manipulate her hair a number of minutes each day equal to her level; these minutes do not need to be consecutive, but must be spent in 1-minute increments. A typical male witch with this hex can also manipulate his beard, moustache, or eyebrows.

White Hair (Su)

At 1st level, a white-haired witch gains the ability to use her hair as a weapon. This functions as a primary natural attack with a reach of 5 feet. The hair deals 1d4 points of damage (1d3 for a Small witch) plus the witch’s Intelligence modifier. In addition, whenever the hair strikes a foe, the witch can attempt to grapple that foe with her hair as a free action* without provoking an attack of opportunity, using her Intelligence modifier in place of her Strength modifier when making the combat maneuver check. When a white-haired witch grapples a foe in this way, she does not gain the grappled condition.

If I take Natural Spell Combat, do I need to specify what type of hair I'm taking the Magus Arcana for or does it apply to both? This as a White-Haired Witch with a Hexcrafter Magus dip.

I don't know how broad or how narrowly I am reading the FAQ here...

When using spell combat, can the weapon in my other hand be an unarmed strike or a natural weapon?

Yes, so long as the weapon is a light or one-handed melee weapon and is associated with that hand. For example, unarmed strikes, claws, and slams are light melee weapons associated with a hand, and therefore are valid for use with spell combat. A tail slap is not associated with a hand, and therefore is not valid for use with spell combat.

[...]

If I use spell combat, how many weapon attacks can I make?

You can make as many weapon attacks as you would normally be able to make if you were making a full attack with that weapon. For example, if you are an 8th-level magus (BAB +6/+1), you could make two weapon attacks when using spell combat.

This is a revised ruling about how haste interacts with effects that are essentially a full attack, even though the creature isn't specifically using the full attack action (as required by haste). The earlier ruling implied that spell combat did not allow the extra attack from haste (because spell combat was not using the full attack action).

See, it says that my character needs to have a hand with which to cast spells and a hand with which she can attack. It specifies that this attack can be a natural attack if it's a natural attack made with that limb.

However, I am confused with the wording of the second ruling. It says that I can make "as many attacks as you would normally be able to if you were making a full attack". For natural weapons, this can be in combination with your hand rather than seperate from it. However, it goes on to say that "with that weapon". Do I need to read that as "with that weapon" as "including that weapon" or "exclusively that weapon"?

English is not my native language.

I recalled that spell combat doesn't work on all spells, just magus spells. Still, if a witch has one or more targets grappled with her white hair, does her strangling hair affect one or both targets? Does the strangling hair still have to make a CMB roll to affect a target already grappled by white hair? Would the strangling hair be considered to be "aiding another" in relation to the white hair?

White Hair (Su)

At 1st level, a white-haired witch gains the ability to use her hair as a weapon. This functions as a primary natural attack with a reach of 5 feet. The hair deals 1d4 points of damage (1d3 for a Small witch) plus the witch’s Intelligence modifier. In addition, whenever the hair strikes a foe, the witch can attempt to grapple that foe with her hair as a free action* without provoking an attack of opportunity, using her Intelligence modifier in place of her Strength modifier when making the combat maneuver check. When a white-haired witch grapples a foe in this way, she does not gain the grappled condition.

At 4th level and every four levels thereafter, a white-haired witch’s hair adds 5 feet to its reach, to a maximum of 30 feet at 20th level.

The hair cannot be sundered or attacked as a separate creature.

In addition, a white-haired witch further improves her ability to control her hair as she progresses in level, gaining the following abilities:

Constrict (Ex): At 2nd level, when the white-haired witch’s hair successfully grapples an opponent, it can begin constricting her victim as a swift action*, dealing damage equal to that of its attack.

Trip (Ex): At 4th level, a white-haired witch who successfully strikes a foe with her hair can attempt a combat maneuver check to trip the creature as a swift action*.

Pull (Ex): At 6th level, a white-haired witch who successfully strikes a foe with her hair can attempt a combat maneuver check to pull the creature 5 feet closer to her as a swift action*.

Strangle (Ex): At 8th level, when the white-haired witch’s hair is grappling with an opponent, that creature is considered strangled, and cannot speak or cast spells with verbal components.

This ability replaces hex.

Hex Arcana

A hexcrafter gains access to the following magus arcana, or may select any witch hex in place of a magus arcana.

Extra Arcana

You have unlocked the secret of a new magus arcana.

Prerequisites: Magus arcana class feature.
Benefit: You gain one additional magus arcana. You must meet all the prerequisites for this magus arcana.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects stack, granting a new arcana each time you gain this feat.

Prehensile Hair (Su)

Effect: The witch can instantly cause her hair (or even her eyebrows) to grow up to 10 feet long or to shrink to its normal length, and can manipulate her hair as if it were a limb with a Strength score equal to her Intelligence score. Her hair has reach 10 feet, and she can use it as a secondary natural attack that deals 1d3 points of damage (1d2 for a Small witch). Her hair can manipulate objects (but not weapons) as dexterously as a human hand.

The hair cannot be sundered or attacked as a separate creature. Pieces cut from the witch’s elongated hair shrink away to nothing. Using her hair does not harm the witch’s head or neck, even if she lifts something heavy with it. The witch can manipulate her hair a number of minutes each day equal to her level; these minutes do not need to be consecutive, but must be spent in 1-minute increments. A typical male witch with this hex can also manipulate his beard, moustache, or eyebrows.

Strangling Hair

Your hair animates and extends to grapple and constrict an opponent. Make a grapple check against the target using your caster level as the base attack bonus plus a bonus equal to your Intelligence bonus (if a witch or wizard) or Charisma bonus (if a sorcerer). This grapple check does not provoke attacks of opportunity. If your hair succeeds in grappling a foe, that creature takes 1d6 points of damage or your unarmed strike damage, whichever is greater, and gains the grappled condition. Your hair receives a +5 bonus on grapple checks made against opponents it is already grappling, but cannot move foes or pin foes. Each round that your hair succeeds on a grapple check, it deals an additional 1d6 points of damage. The CMD of your hair, for the purposes of escaping the grapple, is equal to 10 + its CMB.

Once you choose a target, your hair continues to attack that target independently of your own actions. You may designate a new target as a move action, which causes your hair to release its current target (if any) and attack the new target that round. Your hair cannot be targeted as a separate creature, but it can be dispelled.

How do these rules interact off of each other? Just a Hexcraft 1/White Haired Witch 1 with a Strangling Hair wand.

Does this mean that my character now has two natural attacks called "Prehensile Hair" and "White Hair", along with a seperate entity called "Strangling Hair"? Do the bonuses my strangling hair receives also apply to other hair? Does my White Hair also grow 10 feet along with the Prehensile Hair? Can my Prehensile Hair grapple like my White Hair can by default? Does using my intelligence score in place of my strength score for Prehensile Hair also carry over to my other hair for as long as the hex is active? Does the line;

If your hair succeeds in grappling a foe, that creature takes 1d6 points of damage or your unarmed strike damage, whichever is greater, and gains the grappled condition.

mean that grapple attempts with my White Hair also deal 1d6 damage while my Strangling Hair is active?