Ok probs needs a breif explantion. I got onto this idea when I conisdered the RP synergy between a barbarian clan and a witch/witch coven. As a society goes seems very plausable to me that a witch or coven of witches could hold position of power in a barbrian clan socitey (e.g. witch doctor, arguable equal in power to clan chief although offically under him)
That then got me thinking that if such a clan existed of witches and barbarians then over time there would be a blending of knowlege/abilites.
Needless to say at this point I rolled a few witch/barbarian mutliclassed charcters and was pretty dissapointed with the results.
So I started thinking about how I could mash these two classes together to make a hybrid class that would make sense on such a society.
My first idea was give them 3/4BAB let them wear light and med armor without penalty, no shields, d8 HP, cannot cast evocation spells EVER (even off scrolls/wands etc) and give them sorc/oracle spellcasting progression CHA or WIS based, no preparation although familair is still the channel for the power.
Second thought was Take barbarian , strip out Rage and rage powers, reaplace with Hex's. Mix in some abilites to maintain Hex's during full round attacks , and later to apply Hex's during attacks at some penalty.
The second idea in particular is to make an in your face witch that will curse you and cackle madly as they slam thier greathammer into your chest.
I would consider such a class to have its roots in the leadership familiar of a barbarian clan, i.e. the children of the chief would be taught to not only be barbairan warriors but to use witchcraft instead of inner rage to destory thier enemies. the 3/4bab version are better at the witchcraft side but like a cleric dont suck at melee either. While the Barb/Witch are mostly fighter that can weaken a foe with curses.
I also liked the idea that with a Witch, Witch(3/4BAB) and Witch(Barb) you've got a coven of 3 there, maybe give the Witch(Barb) a -3 to effective witch level in a coven.
Thoughts ?
Witch 8 Barbarian 2 Eldritch Knight 10 worked well for me.
Honestly the witch synergizes nicely with the EK since it has healing spells and access to several divine buffs that normally aren't available to the arcane classes.
At the end of the day this is the area I see the EK really shining.
Witch 8 Barbarian 2 Eldritch Knight 10 worked well for me.
Honestly the witch synergizes nicely with the EK since it has healing spells and access to several divine buffs that normally aren't available to the arcane classes.
At the end of the day this is the area I see the EK really shining.
Interesting combo, of course only minor hex's for the witch I kinda like hex's over the spell list of a witch.
I'm struggling to find an RP fit for EK, but I'll give it some thought.
Well the nice thing about the current EK is that it doesn't have much fluff attached to it, and the mechanics (while rather powerful) aren't actually that flavorful either. With three bonus feats and 9 levels of spell casting you end up with a tough, capable spell caster. Take the two levels of barbarian with arcane strike and the extra rage feat (once or twice... 6 extra rounds should be enough): Now you hit HARD for free when you do decide to hit.
Str 14 (to start) + 4 Rage = 18 (before items)
Arcane Strike + 2~3 (maximum +4)
magical weapon
power attack...
and the usual and you'll get solid hits out of it. The evil eye hex helps you hit harder (as a curse mechanic it's great) and the warding could be done by hena tattoos, while you'll get enough level in witch to also pick up the flying hex and the cackle and you have someone that can keep to the front line and help the other fighters stay in the fight too. You'll have options every round ranging from healing, to buffing, to debuffing to simply hitting something hard. You don't have to worry about the familiar nearly as much since your HP is higher his will be too (you are averaging 14d10+6d6 for hp). For armor I really think the still spell would be great however even the regular arcane armor training is fine too (since when you want arcane strike you probably won't use the training).
If you want to retool the EK a little bit to even it up I would suggest dropping out the feats and the deverse training and give him one extra round of rage each level and then an extra rage power every time he would have gotten a bonus feat. The capstone could simply give him the ability to cast while raging (not something incredibly useful though, so maybe include a +2 to DC of his spells while raging).
Maybe they'll re-fit the Hexblade into a PrC that combines combat ability with Hexing. Maybe Require CL 5, Proficient in all Martial Weapons, ability to use Hexes, ability to Rage.
Give it Good BAB, Good Fort and/or Will, HD: 1d10.
1. Hex, Rage, Swift Hex
2. +1 CL
3. Rage Power, Hex
4. +1 CL
5. Hex
6. +1 CL, Rage Power
7. Hex
8. +1 CL
9. Hex, Rage Power
10. +1 CL, Hexing Critical
Hex: You gain a new Hex at levels 1, 3, 5, 7, 9. Your class level stacks with your witch level for the purposes of determining the Save DC and highest tier of Hex you can select.
Rage: You gain 1 additional round of rage for every level you attain. Your class level stacks with your barbarian level for the purposes of determining your access to Greater Rage, Tireless Rage, and Mighty Rage.
Swift Hex: Once per rage, you can use any Hex you know as a swift action.
Hexing Critical: Whenever you score a critical hit, you can also target your opponent with any Hex you know as an immediate action.
Maybe they'll re-fit the Hexblade into a PrC that combines combat ability with Hexing. Maybe Require CL 5, Proficient in all Martial Weapons, ability to use Hexes, ability to Rage.
Give it Good BAB, Good Fort and/or Will, HD: 1d10.
1. Hex, Rage, Swift Hex
2. +1 CL
3. Rage Power, Hex
4. +1 CL
5. Hex
6. +1 CL, Rage Power
7. Hex
8. +1 CL
9. Hex, Rage Power
10. +1 CL, Hexing CriticalHex: You gain a new Hex at levels 1, 3, 5, 7, 9. Your class level stacks with your witch level for the purposes of determining the Save DC and highest tier of Hex you can select.
Rage: You gain 1 additional round of rage for every level you attain. Your class level stacks with your barbarian level for the purposes of determining your access to Greater Rage, Tireless Rage, and Mighty Rage.
Swift Hex: Once per rage, you can use any Hex you know as a swift action.
Hexing Critical: Whenever you score a critical hit, you can also target your opponent with any Hex you know as an immediate action.
mmm not bad at all, a 15 / 15 effective witch/barb (minus the spells which would only be 5th) seems like it would be survivable.
As you say needs a minimum entry level
although a min max version seems you can make a barb 19 with witch hexes without much in the way of lost barb abilites.
might need to impose a mystic theruge entry so you need at least 3 witch 3 barb.
I meant it to have Barb 1/Witch 5 as a requirement by requiring CL 5, but also kept it open for future classes that use Hexes. Maybe add in 5 or 6 ranks in Knowledge arcana or Survival or Intimidate?
SmiloDan it is really hard to "force" specific entries into prestige classes, so I would just leave it where it currently is. Any requirement you can come up with (especially skill requirements) will be able to be met by several different combinations of classes -- which is good, since multiple entry points are a key feature of prestige classes.
Yeah, I didn't mean to "force" the issue....I just want there to be a minimum level of 5 or 6!!!! ;-) I like it when there are lots of fun and neat ways to enter a PrC, like bards, monks or rangers being assassins, etc.
ah ok makes more sense now. Anyways your current requirements definitely makes that the easiest route to get into it.