Witches in Souls for Smugglers Shiv

[mattbrugge]

I have a first level witch PC in the party I am running. Now he really doesn't do much but the ability to put something to sleep and his other hex misfortune are pretty tough. He is now 3rd level and going up against the cannibals. What are your thoughts on the class witch in general and for this first part of the the Serpents Skull AP.

[thenovalord]

mattbrugge wrote:

I have a first level witch PC in the party I am running. Now he really doesn't do much but the ability to put something to sleep and his other hex misfortune are pretty tough. He is now 3rd level and going up against the cannibals. What are your thoughts on the class witch in general and for this first part of the the Serpents Skull AP.

i play a witch in this AP

i think i had flight, healing, ward, fortune at low level. I found her to be a very busy character...didnt really get to use many spells

i took slumber hex for a level, decided it was way overpowered and swapped it out.

am 6th now, and seem pretty powerful, midway through adventure 2

havent found any magic items for her yet though

[ryric]

mattbrugge wrote:

I have a first level witch PC in the party I am running. Now he really doesn't do much but the ability to put something to sleep and his other hex misfortune are pretty tough. He is now 3rd level and going up against the cannibals. What are your thoughts on the class witch in general and for this first part of the the Serpents Skull AP.

The slumber hex seems powerful now, but remember: smart foes can wake each other up with full round actions. Also, when you get to the later volumes:

Spoiler:

There are a lot of undead, and intellect devourers, and serpentfolk, which are immune to mind affecting effects. The slumber hex is much much less useful in adventures 5 and 6.

I had two witches in my LoF game and while slumber was quite good, it also made the hexer a target for ranged attacks, flyers, and other threats. Also 30 feet is within charge range for nearly anything.

[thenovalord]

ryric wrote:

I had two witches in my LoF game and while slumber was quite good, it also made the hexer a target for ranged attacks, flyers, and other threats. Also 30 feet is within charge range for nearly anything.

yeah, but not always many ranges or fliers, and the witch can hover out the way....plus if your are shooting the witch it means you are getting battered by the monk or barbarian!!

i also swapped it out cos it was a bit dull!

[aaron Ellis]

Thread necro alert:

Our party witch took a feat to raise slumber hex DCs by 2 (Ability Focus) and something that allows him to attempt slumber on the same target more than once per 24 hours (all with my approval). Basically pushed this so-called OP ability into overdrive. This made him dangerous to susceptible targets, but relatively harmless against several others.

Still, it hasnt't been much of a problem. Slumbered low flying targets wake up when they hit the ground (while taking some damage) and intelligent foes with allies usually get kicked awake.

Spoiler:

I retrofitted the NPC witch with slumber, to great effect against the PCs and castaways. Fun stuff - what's good for the goose and all that.

The witch player is getting bored with it though. Wanting to retrain to something more diverse.

[Shimnimnim]

Witch is a dope class. You get flying really early, and it's good flying and it's really versatile. Hexes like evil eye and misfortune are hella good, and fortune on the right unit is outright amazing. (My current group's witch uses fortune on the group's gunslinger and the misfire is a memory left behind.)

The spell list is very balanced and contains a ton of versatility, especially at low to mid levels (probably at higher levels too but I have no experience with it yet). You've got lightning bolt, you've got debuffs, you have burning hands if you need cheap AoE, you have good debuffs as well as good buffs for your team.

A lot of people call the witch more difficult to use than the wizard or sorcerer but I beg to differ. A versatile spell list with the ability to pick spells per day like a wizard, but with powerful hexes (which have unlimited uses per day) to fall back on. It's a good class, especially for here, where you'll want to have someone who is versatile.

Scarred Witch Doctor (now available for Half-Orc if you're DM is ridiculous!) is a great archetype that's totally thematic, but honestly the mystic chaotic unknown is a perfect setting for a witch.