I've always been torn between sorcerer and wizard so once I saw the which I was very excited despite not having access to the full arcane spell list. We are about halfway through the campaign at this point and so far I like the witch a lot, but I was wondering if there was is a better way to play a controller/summoner than I am currently doing. Other members of the party include a gish magus, a boss killing utility extract using alchemist, and a very very insane damage obsessed barbarian.
We are eleventh level my race is a half-elf and my ability scores are as follows:
Str: 12
Dex: 14
Con: 14
Int: 20 (all bonuses from racial and leveling stacked into here)
Wis: 15
Cha: 16
Hexes:
evil eye, Fortune, Slumber, Cackle, Misfortune, Retribution (major hex)
Feats:
Toughness, Improved Initiative, Spell focus (conjuration), Augment Summoning, Improved Familiar (pseudodragon), Spell Penetration
Like I said before I am a Support caster and a summoner (though I do have a few blasts on my list of known spells) and due to circumstance I have been pretty much forced to become the party face despite my lack of class skills for the job.
The spells I Know are as follows and I have the agility patron for my familiar:
(P)=Patron spell
0- All spells
1- Mage armor, Obscuring mist, CLW, Identify, Mount, Unseen servant, Ray of enfeeblement, Jump(P), Enlarge/Reduce person
2- Vomit swarm, Web, Cat's grace(P), Glitterdust, Pernicious poison
3-Haste (P), Fly, Magic weapon greater, Stinking cloud, Summon monster 3
4- Volcanic Storm, Enervation, Freedom of Movement (P), Summon monster 4, Fear, Confusion
5- Magic jar, Feeblemind, cone of cold (usually 6th level for witch dm made it 5th), Polymorph (P), Teleport
6- Suggestion/mass, Summon monster 6
I will typically memorize a couple of battlefield control spells like obscuring mist/web/confusion, a few debuffs like pernicious poison/feeblemind/enervation, at least two haste's and one magic weapon greater and fly, At least two summon spells and one vomit swarm and if there is any room left I will prepare one blast.
The first round of combat is almost always spent by me either throwing out a battlefield control (if their are multiple enemies) or the evil eye hex (-4 to saves if its just a BBEG or a BBEG and a few henchmen) followed by a cackle. Second round is usually a buff like haste or begin summoning. Sometimes I can get off a nasty combo if the enemy isn't immune to poison with a total of -8 to saves against poison then vomiting a swarm on them and finishing with a haste to really tack on the destruction. From then on its support as needed if the enemy gets close in melee I throw out the blast usually or try to cast fly and get away. If I get low on spells as the day goes by I try to coast by with my hexes.
Any advice or critiquing would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I am also playing a Witch currently, our strategies are very similar, though it sounds like I use the debuffing hexes more commonly than you do (evil eye (for saves), cackle, misfortune (save at -4), cackle - then an out of character cackle as the battle is basically over)
That said, your strategy appears solid. Are you having problems/issues?
I am also playing a Witch currently, our strategies are very similar, though it sounds like I use the debuffing hexes more commonly than you do (evil eye (for saves), cackle, misfortune (save at -4), cackle - then an out of character cackle as the battle is basically over)
That said, your strategy appears solid. Are you having problems/issues?
First off are you the Treantmonk that wrote the monk/bard/druid/wizard guides? Secondly, I am usually not having many problems except the dm is really trying to break me by throwing out monsters that are really resistant/immunity heavy.
1) Yes (is there more than one?)
2) Have to ask: What immunities/resistances are you encountering that are foiling your strategies of battlefield control (usually resistance proof), summon (also usually resistance proof) and hexes (evil eye + indefinite cackling pretty much makes the saving throw irrelevant)
No I'm not aware of another I just got basically my entire build and strategy from your various guides (wish there were more). Complementing aside, I'm getting knocked senseless while trying to summon because of the one round casting time the enemies will usually disregard all other threats (even if it means provoking Aoo's just to stop me from casting). Also we have been fighting a lot of elementals and constructs lately and I find that the only thing I am able to do is spam evil eye, fortune and cackle. Is that the best thing to do in these situations, is there something more "direct" I can do as my peers would say, am I doing exactly what my role in the party should be doing or am I just paranoid and crying because I am not a one woman army.
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Doing damage and killing enemies are best left to classes good at these roles. Witches are really geared for debuffing, which lets those classes damage and kill that much more effectively. Using spells for battlefield control and buffing are good choices too, though are secondary because they use valuable spell slots.
From a tactical standpoint, you don't want to cast summoning if you think there is a reasonable chance for your enemies to disrupt your casting.
Though there is an argument for specifically drawing the enemy attacks if it is sending them through an obstacle course of allied attacks of opportunity.
Here's some hints that might help:
1) Have your pseododragon drop a smokestick in front of you (or use the appropriate wand (obscuring mist) if your DM allows a pseudodragon to hold a wand- you maxed out UMD right?) Then your opponents can't see that you are using a full round casting.
2) distance + difficult terrain: Have your pseudodragon drop some marbles or caltrops and make sure there is some distance between you and your enemies before you start casting. If they can't charge (difficult terrain), then they can only do a single move action if they want to attack.
3) Invisibility: It's not on your spell list, but a wand isn't prohibitively expensive (you maxed UMD right?) Summoning does not break invisibility
4) Flight: If your opponents aren't flying, then you're golden
If in doubt, then skip summoning, summoning is great, but if it gets interrupted it was wasted. If you are fighting large numbers of creatures, throw an area spell (stinking cloud, web, etc), or if in doubt, a mass buff like Haste always pays off.
I don't know what your GM thinks of pseudodragons holding wands. If they say it is OK, then that's cool, in my case, I went with a mephit so there could be no doubt - with a maxed out UMD you are in good shape. Wands like silent image, obscuring mist - as well as simple items like caltrops, tanglefoot bags, marbles and smokesticks can be invaluable - and it's basically free if your familiar takes care of those little details.
we have been fighting a lot of elementals and constructs lately and I find that the only thing I am able to do is spam evil eye, fortune and cackle
Sounds effective. Throw misfortune on there too. Misfortune and evil eye stack very nicely. ("make 2 saves at -4 and take the worse result" and "make 2 attack rolls at -4 and take the worse result") are both very fun to say, and if you keep cackling, they last indefinitely.
Oh, and if you are the party face, consider picking up charm with your next hex. It's not a major hex, but most of the major hexes aren't better than the minor ones anyways.
Thanks for taking the time to write all that and I really should get creative with my pseudodragon. I usually don't use it in combat and the only time I did was when my character was stunned and then my pseudodragon dropped a feather token (tree) in the way of a charging Lycanthrope, but the blindsense has been invaluable and it is excellent at scouting. Also I do have UMD maxed out along with knowledge (planes and arcana) and spellcraft. I will definitely check to see if my dm will allow it to use wands.
BTW are you planning on writing any more guides? They are always funny to read, understand, and have been in invaluable tool in many of my characters.
I dunno. They are a lot of work, and I've found myself in lack of motivation to write any for some time. That said, I wouldn't mind writing a guide for Witches.
Familiars (especially improved ones) with Use Magic Device should absolutely be used for combat. In our last session, my familiar Removed Fear from our panicked Ranger, put up a Silent Image wall of ice which was invaluable in the combat, as well as many more minor items.
I dunno. They are a lot of work, and I've found myself in lack of motivation to write any for some time. That said, I wouldn't mind writing a guide for Witches.
If you did write a guide for Witches where would you post it first (only place I have seen your guides is on the srd) I would love to interject my opinion into it.
Thanks for the advice btw I will be sure to try it out
Hi Treantmonk. Loved your guides too, been great help.
As for a guide for witches, c873788 has actually written one already, in a style similar to your guides:
Hubble, Bubble, toil and trouble (A Guide to Witches)
Instead of writing your own guide (and doing alot of the work twice I guess) it might be better to work together with him. (He's still active in the thread and just recently updated it for UM)
There it is, yep, that would have been a waste of my time.
Thanks for the heads up Emalea!
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TM is pretty on the ball with the advice and the only thing I can think to add is:
Battlefield control is an awesome tactic and highly effective but don't forget that Witch's are Save or Suck/Die specialist. Any single target opponent can be completely destroyed by a focused witch (though Constructs are a bit harder to take down).
It also looks like you aren't using any of the options from Ultimate Magic and there are several options I think you should look into.
Though somewhat light on the Witch focus it did add 4 things I believe all witches should work into their builds.
1). Feat - Split Hex, affect two different targets whenever you use a targeted Hex.
2). Feat - Accursed hex, You can re-try a hex on a target if they make their save.
3). Major Hex - Ice Tomb, The go to disabling hex. Probably the only choice at 10th level now.
4). Spell - Three Fold Aspect, the ultimate disguise + stat buff spell. Lasts 24hours a casting and can affect all your important stats.
It also looks like you aren't using any of the options from Ultimate Magic and there are several options I think you should look into.
Though somewhat light on the Witch focus it did add 4 things I believe all witches should work into their builds.
1). Feat - Split Hex, affect two different targets whenever you use a targeted Hex.
2). Feat - Accursed hex, You can re-try a hex on a target if they make their save.
3). Major Hex - Ice Tomb, The go to disabling hex. Probably the only choice at 10th level now.
4). Spell - Three Fold Aspect, the ultimate disguise + stat buff spell. Lasts 24hours a casting and can affect all your important stats.
I completely forgot about ultimate magic thanks I will take a look at these right now.
Also, I can't seem to be able to find disabling hex anywhere. Any idea where I could find it or what it does?
Familiars (especially improved ones) with Use Magic Device should absolutely be used for combat. In our last session, my familiar Removed Fear from our panicked Ranger, put up a Silent Image wall of ice which was invaluable in the combat, as well as many more minor items.
I've also found great success with my Familiar using a Wand of Ill Omen as an effective Persistent Spell/Misfortune before throwing out a spell with a save.
I know it will be far less effective once I start running into SR more commonly, but so far its been absolutely murderous as an action-efficient means of dropping debuffs on things.
It also looks like you aren't using any of the options from Ultimate Magic and there are several options I think you should look into.
Though somewhat light on the Witch focus it did add 4 things I believe all witches should work into their builds.
1). Feat - Split Hex, affect two different targets whenever you use a targeted Hex.
2). Feat - Accursed hex, You can re-try a hex on a target if they make their save.
3). Major Hex - Ice Tomb, The go to disabling hex. Probably the only choice at 10th level now.
4). Spell - Three Fold Aspect, the ultimate disguise + stat buff spell. Lasts 24hours a casting and can affect all your important stats.
I completely forgot about ultimate magic thanks I will take a look at these right now.
Also, I can't seem to be able to find disabling hex anywhere. Any idea where I could find it or what it does?
He meant Ice Tomb IS THE!! GO to (best wicked awesome) Hex at level 10.
It's a Save or Lose that targets Fort. So like Slumber, but vs other casters (weak fort)!!!He's absolutely right. In fact these hexes are making my (rebuilt) witch OP. The DM is REALLY making the melees/blaster love it since he throws more hordes at us to stop me MEGA-SUCKING the BBEG and 1 buddy (split hex)
I've always been pretty decent at playing a caster (I prefer melees) but the witch is soooo damn easy to optimise. It's lots of fun but really forces dm's out of the BBEG mentality.
Treantmonk- have you looked at the new hexes? I'm nearly at the point of saying as far as combat goes witch is more powerful than wizard.
Traits: Reactionary, Desperate Focus
1 Familiar (Compsognathus +4 Initiative), Cantrips, Hex: Evil eye, Extra Hex: Slumber
2 Cackle
3 Scribe Scroll
4 Misfortune
5 Craft Wondrous Item
6 Fortune
7 Craft Magic Arms/Armor
8 Flight
9 Improved Familiar- Azata, Lyrakien
10 Ice Tomb Hex
11 Persistent Spell
12 Major Healing
13 Split Hex
14 Retribution
15 Quicken Spell
16 Waxen Image
17 Craft Staff
18 Lifegiver
19 Extra Hex: Forced Reincarnation
20 Natural Disaster
Hexes are so good, they are becoming a go to option for Magai as well...
Treantmonk- have you looked at the new hexes? I'm nearly at the point of saying as far as combat goes witch is more powerful than wizard.
The witch is significantly better than a wizard at debuffing.
At buffing, they are similar
The witch obviously has far greater lasting power than a wizard due to hexes
At battlefield control, the wizard has a pretty big advantage
Defensively the wizard has another big advantage
I don't like "X is more powerful than Y" class comparisons, so I don't think I'll engage in it here, but certainly the witch has several areas which it leaves the wizard behind. Hexes are extremely good.
As for the new hexes, if you are referring to UM, I'm not sure that they are in league with the hexes in APG.
Oh, hey, it's the famous Treantmonk, the guy who writes the guides for my two favorite classes. (druid/monk)
I just started playing a witch, it may be my favorite build in years. I dumped everything but INT and a little CON, then took Venerable age category to get an additional 3 INT/WIS/CHA which stretched my INT higher and made up for the dumping of WIS and CHA. My final strength was a 3. Then I took Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, King Crab Familiar, and Prehensile Hair, which grapples at 10 foot reach with a strength equal to my INT bonus. Char concept is Crazy Sea Hermit.
I was skeptical, but I've discovered that it works pretty well at lower levels. As a third level witch, I pinned a 5th level barbarian for two rounds last Friday, after the Paladin ran away. It's not a trick you want to build a character around, but it's certainly a great thing to have in your toolbox when you're a low AC low defense caster.
One area I suspect the Witch may shine is in Save or Die, because of the strength of the Witch's saving throw debuffing. I know Mr. Treantmonk is not a fan of SOD builds, but I suspect you can combo a lot of this stuff to make them a lot more effective.
For instance:
Spell Focus Transmutation, (+1 save dc)
Greater Spell Focus Transmutation, (+1 save dc)
Threefold Aspect (+2 int bonus = +2 save dc)
Venerable at character creation (+1.5 int bonus = +1.5 save dc)
Then your combat goes:
1) Evil Eye (-4 to saves, min 1 round)
2) Cackle as move equiv to extend Evil Eye if necessary, Baleful Polymorph at a net 10 save difference over someone not trying to minmax it.
I suspect all that stacking will get through quite a high save.
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Treantmonk- have you looked at the new hexes? I'm nearly at the point of saying as far as combat goes witch is more powerful than wizard.The witch is significantly better than a wizard at debuffing.
At buffing, they are similar
The witch obviously has far greater lasting power than a wizard due to hexes
At battlefield control, the wizard has a pretty big advantage
Defensively the wizard has another big advantage
I don't like "X is more powerful than Y" class comparisons, so I don't think I'll engage in it here, but certainly the witch has several areas which it leaves the wizard behind. Hexes are extremely good.
As for the new hexes, if you are referring to UM, I'm not sure that they are in league with the hexes in APG.
Defense is the witch's biggest flaw, lacking the staple wizard defenses (mirror image, blur, etc) while needing to stay inside of 30 ft of the opponent really makes it risky at lower levels.
And you are right, the hexes added in with Ultimate Magic are mostly NPC only territory (Though I love Cook People, probably my favorite Hex now) but 2-3 of them are extremely useful for the adventuring Witch.
I do wish they had been a little clearer on the language for a few of the witch options, too much was left unclear.
With that, the new Patrons, spells and familiars make it worthwhile to pick up the UM especially for the Archetypes. I'm rapidly falling in love with the Beast-Bonded witch. Seems brokenly powerful and chock full of flavor.
I am not a fan of SoD spells for wizards this is an important distinction.
First off, the witch spell list is different than the wizards, and a lot of the wizard 5 star spells are unavailable. I'm more likely to go with SoD when it is competing with spells like Symbol of Healing.
More importantly, evil eye and misfortune can make it so your enemy has to save twice vs your SoD at -4 and take the worse result. This deals with many of my objections to SoD very effectively.
My witch uses Baleful Polymorph all the time (alternating between newts, pigs or frogs) and it works fairly reliably. I never use that spell with a wizard.
I am having trouble deciding on a patron. I am between deception (for invisibility), trickery (for mirror image), or time (haste and silence). What are your takes on Patrons? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
I am definitely no Treantmonk, but I did spend a lot of time looking at the patrons and eventually decided on agility to fit with my witch. Looking at the ones you mentioned they are all great and I will highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses of each. The Deception patron is very highly focused on will and since many of your other hexes and spells target this and while invisibility is nice I would skip it as
3) Invisibility: It's not on your spell list, but a wand isn't prohibitively expensive (you maxed UMD right?) Summoning does not break invisibility.
As for Trickery you get a lot of the illusion spells that were previously unavailable to you and the great reverse gravity spell along with a high level protection from scrying spell. Another good aspect is you get the animate rope or "camping" spell and mirror image which helps make your defense a little better when you really need it. Only downside is the list is once again heavily reliant on will until higher levels.
Lastly, for the Time patron. This was the one big competitor with agility when I was choosing a patron as Haste was a must for me. Silence will help break casters and you get the great utility spells Threefold Aspect and Teleport for free. Disintegrate is a great spell for the witch after debuffing hexes are applied as the others have been pointing out SoD are much better for the witch than the wizard. Expend and Temporal Stasis are unimpressive, but to cap it off you get the all mighty time stop.
Overall out of all of those I would go with time due to the mix of spells.
Hope this helped.
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Firstly, there aren't any patrons where I love the whole list. I like some of the spells on pretty much every list and dislike some of the spells on every list. For patrons I would consider inferior overall: Insanity, light, stars, portents, strength, vengeance and water all stick out as weaker (though there are a few bright spots within them)
For the patrons I think are better, there are a number of choices:
Personally I went with trickery. Mirror image and mislead provide some much needed defensive options. Major image gives a solitary illusion option, and eventually reverse gravity and time stop are on the list if the campaign goes that far. Animate rope, hallucinatory terrain and screen would not have been my first choices, but I like more of the spells then I dislike, and most of them aren't on the witches spell list providing some versatility.
I was sorely tempted by Shadow, I love silent image and shadow conjuration would provide phantom steed, Shadow evocation would allow for walls of ice, and greater shadow conjuration would provide walls of stone. All the darkness options, with no Darkvision spell (or any other spell providing improved senses) seemed pretty useless though, and you are spammed with that stuff early on.
Time is pretty good, silence and haste are both great spells, though there is not much else here drawing me to this patron (time stop is pretty much the best 9th level spell in the game, but I don't put a lot of weight behind 9th level spells because at best it will only be used at the end of the campaign). I like threefold aspect and teleport, but both are on the witch spell list already.
Deception doesn't call to me overly. I like invisibility, but Witches tend to be heavier on the targeted stuff, which needs improved invisibility. They can still summon and do some indirect stuff, so it's still good, just not as good (are you really going to make it through the combat without being tempted to throw an evil eye or a misfortune?). The other stuff here isn't blowing me away.
Healing was also very tempting, although a witch gets a number of healing options, the lack of the restoration line is noticeable. If your party lacks a Cleric, I would strongly consider this one.
Endurance is a little less tempting, but worth noting as protection from energy fills a defensive gap and greater restoration is notable, though there is a lot of yawnworthy junk in the middle.
Agility is also a solid runner up with Haste, Polymorph and Freedom of movement, though both the first and second level spells are pretty lame.
Another good aspect is you get the animate rope or "camping" spell
I think what you're thinking about is Rope Trick. Animate Rope is actually pretty lame
I think what you're thinking about is Rope Trick. Animate Rope is actually pretty lame
Yea thats it thanks.
Looking specifically at the spell Polymorph I see that I can't use any spell activation items or cast any spells that require material components, but does this spell in particular prohibit me from using hexes? If not I would have no problem using this as an in combat spell.
While under the effects of a polymorph spell, you lose all extraordinary and supernatural abilities that depend on your original form (such as keen senses, scent, and darkvision)
I'd say you can't use Prehensile Hair if you change into a fire elemental or stuff like that, but otherwise, I don't think anything prevents you from using your Hexes while you are polymorphed.
I always pay special attention to characters who dump any stat that far down. You'd be dammed sure I'd be at the very least tracking encumbrance for that character. And Goddess help you on any Climb or Swim checks or if you ever encounter a Shadow.Oh, hey, it's the famous Treantmonk, the guy who writes the guides for my two favorite classes. (druid/monk)
I just started playing a witch, it may be my favorite build in years. I dumped everything but INT and a little CON, then took Venerable age category to get an additional 3 INT/WIS/CHA which stretched my INT higher and made up for the dumping of WIS and CHA. My final strength was a 3.
I have to agree. You can get away with a 7 strength, but even then encumbrance needs to be managed carefully. With a 3 strength, you aren't even going to be able to carry the standard magical items.
I always pay special attention to characters who dump any stat that far down. You'd be dammed sure I'd be at the very least tracking encumbrance for that character. And Goddess help you on any Climb or Swim checks or if you ever encounter a Shadow.
We started at 3rd with standard loot, so I took a Heward's Handy Haversack. (5lb of my allowable 10) I keep my crab familiar in a bucket in the sack, since he doesn't need to breathe air. Eventually I plan to get one of those everflowing bottles of water, so Mr. Crabs can fill his own bucket down in the extradimensional space.
But yes, the character is supremely flawed in the stat department, which personally I find fun. My GM is good, too, so he'll find ways to apply stresses to the character's flaws I'm sure.
But holy crap can he grapple. He is a grappling fool.
And then if I ever make it to 7th level spells, there's Greater Age Resistance, and all that goes away anyway. Witches are uniquely built to crowbar the age modifiers, which makes sense IMO.
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Healing was also very tempting, although a witch gets a number of healing options, the lack of the restoration line is noticeable. If your party lacks a Cleric, I would strongly consider this one.
Endurance is a little less tempting, but worth noting as protection from energy fills a defensive gap and greater restoration is notable, though there is a lot of yawnworthy junk in the middle.
Agility is also a solid runner up with Haste, Polymorph and Freedom of movement, though both the first and second level spells are pretty lame.
I think the three patrons above can be quite useful, but specifically for a Cauldron Witch. The greatest issue with a Cauldron Witch, though, is that they aren't directly providing nearly as much combat support; they're farming out their spells via potions to the rest of the party as they need it.
I think there's a great opportunity for a witch to focus on buffing instead of debuffing/SOD, but it requires a different mindset about how you contribute to party success up front.
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Firstly, there aren't any patrons where I love the whole list. I like some of the spells on pretty much every list and dislike some of the spells on every list. For patrons I would consider inferior overall: Insanity, light, stars, portents, strength, vengeance and water all stick out as weaker (though there are a few bright spots within them)
For the patrons I think are better, there are a number of choices:
Personally I went with trickery. Mirror image and mislead provide some much needed defensive options. Major image gives a solitary illusion option, and eventually reverse gravity and time stop are on the list if the campaign goes that far. Animate rope, hallucinatory terrain and screen would not have been my first choices, but I like more of the spells then I dislike, and most of them aren't on the witches spell list providing some versatility.
I was sorely tempted by Shadow, I love silent image and shadow conjuration would provide phantom steed, Shadow evocation would allow for walls of ice, and greater shadow conjuration would provide walls of stone. All the darkness options, with no Darkvision spell (or any other spell providing improved senses) seemed pretty useless though, and you are spammed with that stuff early on.
Time is pretty good, silence and haste are both great spells, though there is not much else here drawing me to this patron (time stop is pretty much the best 9th level spell in the game, but I don't put a lot of weight behind 9th level spells because at best it will only be used at the end of the campaign). I like threefold aspect and teleport, but both are on the witch spell list already.
Deception doesn't call to me overly. I like invisibility, but Witches tend to be heavier on the targeted stuff, which needs improved invisibility. They can still summon and do some indirect stuff, so it's still good, just not as good (are you really going to make it through the combat without being tempted to throw an evil eye or a misfortune?). The other stuff here isn't...
I mostly agree with you on the Patron review though I find that Light is a surprisingly good Patron and Deception can be an excellent choice if you intend to focus on buffing, summons and non-targeted hexes.
Light has the distinct advantage of none of those spells exist on the Witch's default spell list, with a good mix of interesting Utility and Direct Damage spells that all have a secondary effect to make them worth taking.
Deception does require a different play style and can be difficult but I find it's list of bonus spells to be reasonably flexible and adding enough unique spells to the spell list to make it a worthwhile patron. Probably not for everyone but if you wanted to play the subtle caster I find it the best choice for that style of play.
My default recommended Patrons are Time, Shadow, Ancestors, Deception & Healing in that order.
I based my recommendations on the flexibility of each patrons bonus spells and how likely I would be to memorize those spells on a given day.
I ranked Time first since of that list 5 of the first 6 spells would be a daily memorization (some of them in multiple slots) and fills a number of different uses for each spell.
As for the 2 areas I find the weakest in the current version of the guide (Spell Review and Familiar recommendations) I'm currently writing up new recommendations for each to take into account the new spells and options from Ultimate Magic.
Any assistance in this is definitely welcome.
I think there's a great opportunity for a witch to focus on buffing instead of debuffing/SOD, but it requires a different mindset about how you contribute to party success up front.
I try to learn and memorize buff spells due to the hexes I have which are bascially all debuffs (at least the ones I know). For example I memorize haste multiple times and greater magic weapon. I have a wand of enlarge person that usually gets a use on the barbarian. Fly pretty much gets a garunteed memorize no matter what i'm playing. It does help that in our party we have an alchemist who is not stingy with his extrats (he has infusion) and due to his buff heavy list he meshes really well with the witch.
As for the 2 areas I find the weakest in the current version of the guide (Spell Review and Familiar recommendations) I'm currently writing up new recommendations for each to take into account the new spells and options from Ultimate Magic.
Any assistance in this is definitely welcome.
Where could I find this? I would love to offer my opinion and insight into the debate.
As for the 2 areas I find the weakest in the current version of the guide (Spell Review and Familiar recommendations) I'm currently writing up new recommendations for each to take into account the new spells and options from Ultimate Magic.
Any assistance in this is definitely welcome.Where could I find this? I would love to offer my opinion and insight into the debate.
Mathwei ap Niall has made substantial contributions to the witches guide found here:
Contributions are welcome as there are still parts of the guide that need polishing or haven't been started yet.
Thanks! will start reading it now.
I figured Time was the best list as well, for the same reasons. Might not give you access to stuff you don't have, but you'll be sure to memorize just about all of them, so it saves you time and effort picking up other stuff in the list. None of it's wasted space.
Also, it segues nicely with taking advanced ages at chargen, both in terms of theme, and utility.
I don't much mind the thread-jack since I was done, but try to be more subtle about it.
Joking aside you have a level 6 cleric and a wizard 2/sorcerer 2/rogue 2? I suppose your fighting APL -1 or even -2 encounters in order to survive as long as you have. I ran a party similar to this one once which consisted of me a sorcerer 5/dragon disciple 10, a fighter 5/ stalwart defender 10, and a druid 10. basic strategy for us was to out last the opponents with a mixture of hit points (DD helped a lot here) and AC (stalwart defender). I focused mostly on BF control and then had my breath weapon as a back up blast while the stalwart defender held the line with the druid as long as possible. The druid almost always wild-shaped into something with the intent of pinning the enemy and this worked fine most of the time. The fighter/stalwart defender never did more than 25 damage on a single attack and damage was hard for us, so battles took awhile. It all worked out in the end (barely) and there were some close calls, but for the most part it worked out fine.
Reason for me bringing that up is the fact that even though we had a three man party which focused more on cleverness than raw power, we still managed to scrape though encounters. Problem with your which is going to not only be damage (a +7 may work now, but things scale quick in the realm of AC, HP, and commonplace DR for most monsters), but to hit will likely become even more harsh (fewer attacks, substantially lower to-hit, commitment of feats and spells just to hang in there, etc.) You will not be able to use the bow as a crutch. Most archer builds have most of the ranged feats right now while you are still stuck at the basics because you have to cover for the rest of the party. Its like playing a rogue who is trying to be the utility caster through scrolls and wands and be a DPR king at the same time. Sure its doable, but its not really an efficient use of resources.
Its probably too late to go back and as long as you aren't playing past level 8 then you should be able to carry on. However, if you have to then you and the cleric have to step up. The cleric is going to have to become a tank and that makes it your job to keep him or her alive. The multiclasser is hopefully going into arcane trickster, but if he isn't he still has to step up to the DPR throne and somehow make it work. Keep the cleric alive through buffing, debuffing, battlefield control, or whatever works.
Your witch seems to do fine.
I think you know that there are much more powerful choices than being a bow witch, but your party seems to be sub par and optimising all out would most likely be a problem so I would just go ahead.
One question remains: does the Wiz/Sorc/Rogue player know what he is doing?