Or perhaps more generally, a caster who has no intention of using weapons.
It seems to me that metamagic feats are generally poor picks, since higher level spells tend to be superior to the lower level spells with a metamagic on it. And there are rods to do it.
Item creation feats need a campaign with the downtime to use them, and essentially you're just selling your feat slot for tasty discounts on a type of magic item. This doesn't seem too appealing either.
So what's left? Take Spell Focus if you mostly keep to a single school? Spell Penetration if you're getting high enough level to meet lots of SR creatures? At least Summoners have a sort-of tree of feats they like, in Spell Focus -> Augment + Superior.
I feel like when I'm making a meleer, I've got many more interesting candidates for feats, but when I'm making a caster, I'm just taking Extra Class Feature nearly every time. (With a break for Improved Familiar, mostly for fluff).
Going back to the matter of witches, all I'm really seeing I should pick up is Accursed Hex, for those smaller fights. The fact that Hexes are supernatural, thus can be used while threatened with no problem, and don't care about SR means I don't care much about feats to bypass those problems either. I expect that if I hit level 20, my witch will have Accursed Hex, Split Hex, Improved Familiar, and the rest is all Extra Hex.
So, are the options really lacking as much as I think they are? Are there cool feats out there for pure casters (or specifically witches) that I've missed?
While I do agree metamagics are an unfair trade-off consider a 5th level blast spell, say, cone of cold, which deals 1d6/level max 15d6 vs a fireball 1d6/level max 10, at 10th level an empowered fireball takes a 5th level slot and deals the exact same damage dice (minus type) plus 50% more of a regular cone of cold (I'm not taking in to account SR, or elemental reduction) Cone of cold has +2 dc compared to fireball. so yeah...not that useful since at levelv 11+ a cone of cold should be dealing more damage. But they have their uses.
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Well I currently have a level 10 Human (Hedge)Witch and my feats look like this.
1.Spell Focus (Necromancy), Extra Hex
3.Greater Spell Focus (Necromancy)
5.Extra Hex
7.Improved Initiative
9.Extra Hex
And My further Planned Feats are.
11.Split Hex (Absolute must)
13.Toughness (Possibly switch with Accused Hex, still looking for something to fill this spot)
15.Accursed Hex
17.Extra Hex
19.Split Major Hex
I though about Extra Hex instead of Toughness but honestly there are not a lot of Hexes to get that i think are worth the feat.
Well I currently have a level 10 Human (Hedge)Witch and my feats look like this.
1.Spell Focus (Necromancy), Extra Hex
3.Greater Spell Focus (Necromancy)
5.Extra Hex
7.Improved Initiative
9.Extra HexAnd My further Planned Feats are.
11.Split Hex (Absolute must)
13.Toughness (Possibly switch with Accused Hex, still looking for something to fill this spot)
15.Accursed Hex
17.Extra Hex
19.Split Major HexI though about Extra Hex instead of Toughness but honestly there are not a lot of Hexes to get that i think are worth the feat.
That looks like a good list, but why bother to get Toughness at all if you're going to wait that long? It's a good feat, but I'd think that if you could survive that long you'd be fine anyway. By that level a lot of what kills characters doesn't do it through HP loss anyway.
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1st - Improved Initiative
1st - Extra Hex (assuming human)
3rd - Accursed Hex
5th - Spell Penetration
7th - Extra Hex
9th - Greater Spell Penetration
11th - Split Hex
13th - Extra Hex
15th - Extra Hex
17th - Extra Hex
19th - Split Major Hex
My hex choices:
Cackle, Evil Eye, Flight, Healing, Misfortune, Slumber, Tongues
Agony, Hag's Eye, Hoarfrost, Major Healing, Nightmare, Retribution, Waxen Image
Eternal Slumber, Life Giver
Shadow patron, cat familiar
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Just take Healing Hex at 1. It's actually better than the spont casting until you actually can get the Hedge Witch feature to kick in, as well as being in the same flavor in the first place.
I may be misunderstanding this archetype, but while the Hedge Witch features says it replaces the 4th and 8th level hexes, it doesn't have the same language as the other archetypes.
For instance the Beast-Bond archetype specifically says "At 4th level, the beast-bonded witch’s connection with her familiar strengthens." and "This ability replaces the witch’s 4th-level hex." Since the Hedge Witch lacked the first statement, I'd assumed that the spontaneous and empathic healing abilities kicked in at first level.
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One feat I think have been overseen sofar is scribe scroll. It is an extremely usefull feat for a witch, and it would not be fair to dump it with other item creation feats. It will probably be my pick at lvl 7.
Btw. I'd never swap evil eye for misfortune. Evil eye always works for at least one round, that's what makes it so good. Misfortune only works for 1 round if they fali their save and to extend it you have to cackle. IMO the only reason to pick misfortune is to combo it with evil eye on targets you cant slumber.
Here's how I buildt my witch btw, currently lvl6 in the night below campign.
Hedge witch, healing patron.
Elf with racial trait to increase DC of slumber.
1. Hex: Slumber. Feat: Extra hex: Healing
2. Hex: Evil eye
3. Feat: Improved initiative.
4.
5. Feat: Accursed hex.
6. Hex: Considering ward or cackle (if I pick cackle I will choose misfortune as extra hex at lvl7)Feats I will prioritize is scribe scroll and improved familiar, and of course split hex at lvl 10.
So obviously I'm the party healer, but I'm no way a heal bot. I have most the healing/cure/restoration spells you usually need the cleric for and can heal everyone 2d8+5 twice a day without spending any resources. Most of my healing still comes from wands, but we would probably be chewing through a wand a day in this campaign if I did not have this hex (even with all my controll). I'm not sure the hedge witch ability to spontaneosly cast cure is worth it, but it is a very usefull ability to have most significantly because it turns every spell slot into 2 spells. I don't think I'm giving up much to do this healing at all since I'm still a total beast offensively with spells like web, glitterdust, stinking cloud, sleetstorm and the lolslumber hex. My character is essentially a decent healer and excellent controller in one package. Tbh I can't help fealing how the witch class is redicilusly powerfull, with or without healing.
Oh and Wings of flying dropped early in the campaign, so I'm blessed with those and don't need...
How are you healing the 2d8+5 2 x a day, I do not think Accursed Hex works with healing hex.
Accursed Hex
You can make a second attempt at failed hexes.
Prerequisites: Hex class feature
Benefit: When you target a creature with a hex that cannot target the same creature more than once per day, and that creature succeeds at its saving throw against the hex’s effect, you can target the creature with the same hex a second time before the end of your next turn. If the second attempt fails, you can make no further attempts to target that creature with the same hex for 1 day. Normal: You can only target a creature with these hexes once per day.
Stuart: Some support for your choices? Like, what spells do you swear by in enchantment and necromancy? Serisan has addressed why Combat Casting isn't a good pick for a witch.
You asked for Feats dude, I gave you Feats.
Serisan's opinion is based on you wanting to Hex everyone - all the time. Sometimes you'll be casting spells [you're a full caster] and Combat Casting will be your friend. Hexes don't cover every situation, which is why you get them and a full spell progression.
Spells: You need to pick these yourself to suit your character. But you get all the good Necromancy & Enchantment spells on your spell list. If you put all your points into Int then you'll have a great chance with all your spells. If, on the other hand, you have a more balanced stat array you may want to select Ranged Touch Attack spells.
Ascending order again:
stuart: Explained advice is worth a lot more to me than just a vote towards a feat. I'm currently running 0 necromancy and 0 enchantment spells. The fact that I have such a powerful non-provoking option in hexes means I'll prefer auto-success (in getting the ability off, at least) to making a check to cast, and giving them a chance to save.
I am a full caster, but I save limited resources when I can. I use spells to cover my weaknesses. I run buffs, and I run area of effects. Spells also have greater range than hexes. So I'll be using them from further away, against clustered opponents.
Spell Focus seems like a good choice if you're running a school specialist, but it's only worth 5% more success when casting spells of that school. For someone who isn't dedicated to that school, and casting from it nearly every round, I'd be hard pressed to say that's worth it. Specializing in necromancy or enchantment especially seems like overcommitment to something you do well with hexes anyway. The witch has excellent mind-affecting hexes, and if the target is immune to mind-affecting, I don't want to be stuck with that as my spells as well. Same for necromancy, the witch doesn't get (unless I've missed something) necromancy spells that stop or destroy undead. And the other things the necromancy school does, the undead are usually immune to.
Edit
Erikk: The problem I have with Evil Eye is that with slumber, you're double-dipping into mind-affecting. Misfortune will hit anything. I will consider Scribe Scroll if I can't buy scrolls. I think by RAW the elf feature wouldn't work since it says spells, but I could see it extending with a gracious DM. I feel like I don't need spont healing, because we have an Oracle who can do that. It's also taken care of with wands, and eventually I may pick up the healing hex as well.
Nemitri: I agree, the metamagic feats just don't seem to do the job well. Unless you have some case where you find a cool trick that can only be accomplished via metamagic. Otherwise, you're spending a feat, and higher level slots, and getting a lower DC if it's an offense spell. It just seems like you're waving your hands a lot to accomplish something that you can do equally well with the normal spells you get at that level.
General Musing: Looking at the schools of my spells, I realized that I'm mostly running conjurations in Web and Glitterdust. This does make the Conjuration Focus -> Augment Summons path seem more appealing.
My question for summoning witches: What conjuration spells (besides summoning) are you using at higher levels? Meaning, does the fuel keep coming?
Also: I guess I'll give Improved Init a shot (when I get a chance), a lot of people are vouching for it. And I could retrain it if it fails to meet expectations.
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The main reason I'd pick Improved Initiative over Extra Hex is because I ended up taking the Charm hex; considering my usual band of team-mates, I'd need to go first to use it or Charm Person before they reflexively start fighting as soon as their initiative counts happen. Of course, there's always the utility of debuffing/slumbering someone in time for those team-mates too.
As for Spell Focus (Necromancy), I'd recently wondered if that would be a good idea for a Gravewalking witch. Since three of the standard hexes are fixed into class features, that only makes Extra ones more appealing, but an extra DC on her patron spells and regular ones looks good. Other than Command Undead, Blindness and fear spells, are there any other good draws for that feat? (You'd also be able to pick up Skeleton Summoner, but that sounds superfluous to me if you can command and animate undead well enough already)
Good Conjuration attack spells: Stinking Cloud, Wall of Stone, Maze. Black Tentacles and Sleet Storm are also good but don't benefit from Spell Focus.
RAW only Fighters can retrain feats.
Or at the very least, I'm 99.995% certain Witches can't.
Improved Init is one of the most important feats for the "god" caster.
Note that if you do want to focus on Slumber, a one level dip into Sorcerer can fix most of the mind-affecting issues. Crossblooded with Undead, and any of the others that give arcana that let you use mind-affecting effects on others.
The problem I have with Evil Eye is that with slumber, you're double-dipping into mind-affecting. Misfortune will hit anything.
The problem here comes if your target makes its save against either Misfortune or Slumber. You don't get to try again if either hex fails. Evil Eye, on the other hand, works for at least one round anyway, and you can hit the same target more than once per day with this hex. Even though you're doubleing-up on mind-affecting hexes, I recommend keeping Evil Eye around. First, you can use it to test the target's will save before trying one of your one-shot hexes. Also, you can use Evil Eye to soften up those targets before dropping a Slumber or Misfortune. Give the target a penalty to their saves, and putting the target to sleep just got easier. If the target managed to save against slumber, no big deal: you can try to Misfortune it, or drop another Evil Eye on it to help out your melee buddies. I'm playing a level 10 witch, and it makes the fighter happy when something's easier to hit (and therefore easier to crit).
Speaking of softening up a target, maybe look at the Quicken Spell metamagic feat. Drop, say, a quickened Ill Omen (which has no save) on a target, followed by a more devastating hex or spell that requires a save. This would be a great combo to use against something big, and the result is that your witch could end the fight in one round.
Stuart: Some support for your choices? Like, what spells do you swear by in enchantment and necromancy? Serisan has addressed why Combat Casting isn't a good pick for a witch.
You asked for Feats dude, I gave you Feats.
Serisan's opinion is based on you wanting to Hex everyone - all the time. Sometimes you'll be casting spells [you're a full caster] and Combat Casting will be your friend. Hexes don't cover every situation, which is why you get them and a full spell progression.
Spells: You need to pick these yourself to suit your character. But you get all the good Necromancy & Enchantment spells on your spell list. If you put all your points into Int then you'll have a great chance with all your spells. If, on the other hand, you have a more balanced stat array you may want to select Ranged Touch Attack spells.
It's true that Hexes do not apply to every situation. Neither do many spells.
My philosophy is this: if you're standing within charge range to do something as a Witch that action can equally be a Hex (many of which are extremely good) or a spell, but the Hex has fewer down sides. There is only one ability in the game that specifically screws with a Hex (granted, it's a level 1 spell that a number of casters get access to, but will seldom prep), whereas there are a number of feats and abilities that mess with casting. Grappled? Hex wins. Anti-caster melee (particularly Step Up fighters or creatures with natural reach)? Hex wins again. You can cast SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many spells from 100+ ft out, well beyond standard charge range. This really diminishes Combat Casting, which rapidly gets outpaced by your character's development in the first place. Even in the worst of all possible scenarios (an 11 Int Witch casting a level 1 spell), you can safely say that not having Combat Casting is the least of your real worries.
Some Hexes, like Flight, not only fill in gaps in the Witch's spell line-up (Featherfall is not a Witch spell, for example), but also provide several spell slots worth of effect (the Fly effect itself), which frees up your spell slots to do anything else. Example: I can save myself a Fly slot to take an extra Dispel Magic, Summon Monster 3, or even a stray Lightning Bolt that can really have great effect in combat. Maybe I want to have a Remove Curse or Remove Disease handy some days. Devoting a slot to Fly makes that really difficult and, if I didn't have the Hex, I probably would have to do it.
I think the issue here is that you think that I'm exclusively playing Hexes. The reality is that I'm leaning on Hexes where they are strongest (within 30 ft, against large numbers of targets) and using spells when they are strongest (at max range, altering an entire combat). My point, in general, is that spells are usually strong enough for the Witch. Yes, you'll want to grab Persistant Metamagic eventually or some flavor feat. Extra Hex, as I mentioned earlier, is just a high value feat, adding significant versatility several times per day, if needed. The versatility isn't just the Hex. It's also the spell slots that it saves you.
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First things first, I have always found that there are 4 feats every pure witch should try to find a place for in their arsenal.
1. Split Hex - Doubling the number of hexes per round is just full of win.
2. Scribe scroll - Massive increase in your spell casting and really reduces the cost of losing a familiar. Plus we are PREPARED casters, we need the flexibility.
3. Improved Familiar - Thumbs are worth it and the SLA's are icing on the cake for your most fragile resource (Go Homonculus, the king of familiars).
4th. Accursed Hex - re-tries are nice but if you need to drop a choice I'd drop this one. By the time you need to worry about it you are solidly into the rocket tag level of the game and will never get that 3rd round of actions.
Now in regards to the OP it really does depend on how you view the witches role in your group.
By design the witch functions best as a support class, all of your abilities and most spell lists are designed to impair the enemy and make it easier for the rest of the party to dispatch it. Kind of like the anti-bard (bards buff the party, withes debuff the target).
edit: I must reiterate this point, Witches are not a buffing class, we are debuffers. If you try to focus on Buffs you will HATE playing a witch.
Nothing says you can't play the heavy it just takes a bit of work to get past the inherent opposition to this in the class design.
If you play the support route the most important hexes for you to pick up and the best order to take them are:
Evil Eye - Every time you use it is like giving an aid another to EVERYONE in your party.
Misfortune - Massive advantage for everyone whose trying to perform a combat maneuver, cast a spell or make the enemy do ANYTHING.
Cackle - Allows you to keep multiple debuffs going while hovering or riding a mount (I HIGHLY recommend the mount option, effectively a giant mobile shield to that protects you)
Scar (take this one last, around the time you can take split hex)
Everything else is optional.
This should be your focus for the first 10 levels, rain chaos and bad luck down on your opponents so your minions... eh party members can laugh as they mow through the competition with ease.
Past 10th you start coming into your strength, here you focus on 1-2 major hexes and really benefit from Scar and Split Hex (read my trick on using turtles and Scar to remove all range issues from your hexes).
Here anything that gives you 2-3 rounds to prep will be begging you for death. But that's a different conversation.
First things first, I have always found that there are 4 feats every pure witch should try to find a place for in their arsenal.
1. Split Hex - Doubling the number of hexes per round is just full of win.
2. Scribe scroll - Massive increase in your spell casting and really reduces the cost of losing a familiar. Plus we are PREPARED casters, we need the flexibility.
3. Improved Familiar - Thumbs are worth it and the SLA's are icing on the cake for your most fragile resource (Go Homonculus, the king of familiars).
4th. Accursed Hex - re-tries are nice but if you need to drop a choice I'd drop this one. By the time you need to worry about it you are solidly into the rocket tag level of the game and will never get that 3rd round of actions.
Accursed Hex actually picks up steam late-game, when you can pick up the failed Ice Tomb, Dire Prophecy, Forced Reincarnation, Agony, Retribution...etc. and, though having lost a round, made a significant impact. DP, in particular, is of significant benefit from it.
I'm usually quite torn about Accursed Hex vs Split Hex, though doubling the Evil Eyes out on the field and/or using that turtle trick of yours is quite nice.
Now in regards to the OP it really does depend on how you view the witches role in your group.
By design the witch functions best as a support class, all of your abilities and most spell lists are designed to impair the enemy and make it easier for the rest of the party to dispatch it. Kind of like the anti-bard (bards buff the party, withes debuff the target).edit: I must reiterate this point, Witches are not a buffing class, we are debuffers. If you try to focus on Buffs you will HATE playing a witch.
Nothing says you can't play the heavy it just takes a bit of work to get past the inherent opposition to this in the class design.
Excellent analogy.
If you play the support route the most important hexes for you to pick up and the best order to take them are:
Evil Eye - Every time you use it is like giving an aid another to EVERYONE in your party.
Misfortune - Massive advantage for everyone whose trying to perform a combat maneuver, cast a spell or make the enemy do ANYTHING.
Cackle - Allows you to keep multiple debuffs going while hovering or riding a mount (I HIGHLY recommend the mount option, effectively a giant mobile shield to that protects you)
Scar (take this one last, around the time you can take split hex)
Everything else is optional.This should be your focus for the first 10 levels, rain chaos and bad luck down on your opponents so your minions... eh party members can laugh as they mow through the competition with ease.
Past 10th you start coming into your strength, here you focus on 1-2 major hexes and really benefit from Scar and Split Hex (read my trick on using turtles and Scar to remove all range issues from your hexes).
Here anything that gives you 2-3 rounds to prep will be begging you for death. But that's a different conversation.
I'd be taking Fortune somewhere before Scar. Fortune is a really, REALLY versatile Hex and has rich potential outside of combat. Fortune does, however, lend more towards benefiting your melee/ranged, while Misfortune skews towards the casters, including yourself. Scar is a good level 8 choice, or level 9 if you want to put your level 9 feat towards Extra Hex.
Accursed Hex actually picks up steam late-game, when you can pick up the failed Ice Tomb, Dire Prophecy, Forced Reincarnation, Agony, Retribution...etc. and, though having lost a round, made a significant impact.
I took another look at the description of Retribution, and it doesn't say anything about you being unable to use this hex more than once against the same target.
Accursed Hex actually picks up steam late-game, when you can pick up the failed Ice Tomb, Dire Prophecy, Forced Reincarnation, Agony, Retribution...etc. and, though having lost a round, made a significant impact.I took another look at the description of Retribution, and it doesn't say anything about you being unable to use this hex more than once against the same target.
...sometimes, I'm full of fail.
Mathwei: I understand that the witch is primarily a debuffer, of course. I am already playing it as such. However, the Witch does get some excellent buffs (Enlarge Person, Haste via Time Patron) that are too good to pass up. Especially if an opponent is immune to mind-affecting, or has high saves, buffing the party is wonderful.
I have mentioned I'm not going the mounted route, though I admit makes Cackle considerably more viable. I'm still surprised you omit Slumber, which can totally shut opponents down. At the very least, a successful slumber will prone an opponent and cost one of his allies a move action to wake him. Hopefully it'll at least waste the target's turn as well.
I also don't think my group would consent to being scarred for buffs.
Fionna: I don't expect I'll have the luxury to ram hexes at the same target that often anyway. If both Slumber and Misfortune fail against a target, I need to change my priorities. It's true that Evil Eye can soften a target for Slumber, but I don't like it on action economy. A turn to set up, and a turn to try? I'd rather have Accursed Hex and give it another go with the real thing. My fighters love it when I slumber something. That means the bugger isn't hurting them, and they get to CdG it, or at least, take some really easy shot at it. When I use Evil Eye (and that's rarely), it's kind of underwhelming. "Oh, too bad you couldn't slumber him again."
And I'll be sure to get a metamagic rod of quicken, if we get that far. Since casters don't need a +X weapon, rods seem like an appropriate money sink.
Cheapy: Sorry if I didn't mention this earlier in the thread, but we have a houserule for retraining one selection each time we level up. So I can test things out. For example, I currently plan to retrain Eldritch Heritage, and probably Cackle and Evil Eye. Might hold onto Cackle for Misfortune though, if we start butting heads with mind immune enemies.
Also, I doubt the Sorcerer bloodline works on Hexes, since they aren't spells, they're supernatural abilities.
nategar: Actually of the spells you mentioned, only the cloud has a save. And witches don't get the Wall.
To be honest, I saw a thread with something like 80 responses about good witch choices and thought "huh, I wonder what the flamewar is about". I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't read previous pages.
Personally, I think that if you understand how to use a mind-affecting spell on a zombie, you can do it with any such effect. But yes, RAW it doesn't work.
Personally, I am a fan of buffing up allies rather than debuffing does. When you beat an enemy, your work is undone. Not so when buffing friends.
The only buff Hex the witch really has is Fortune, and you can extend that with Cackle, but it's still only once per day. When you debuff an opponent and he dies, you'll have no need to debuff him again later in the same day :P
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Accursed Hex actually picks up steam late-game, when you can pick up the failed Ice Tomb, Dire Prophecy, Forced Reincarnation, Agony, Retribution...etc. and, though having lost a round, made a significant impact.I took another look at the description of Retribution, and it doesn't say anything about you being unable to use this hex more than once against the same target....sometimes, I'm full of fail.
The reason I don't really value accursed hex as high as it should be has nothing to do with the Hex itself but in how high level games tend to work.
By the time you need to start using this (opponents saves are that good) you're playing the "Rocket Tag" game and the target is already dead. Most characters are dishing out such insane DPR at that point fights rarely last more than 3-5 rounds. Since it takes most witches 2 rounds to really ramp up that only leaves you 1-2 rounds to make your mark. With that said you can definately find better uses for your actions then trying to re-affect a target that is already half dead.If you think your group will give you that extra time go for it, this is a great Hex, my groups rarely let me even see the primary target before they've beaten it to death.
@Petty Alchemist, I would never knock the slumber hex. At times it can be TOO powerful. However it has a few weaknesses that keeps it from being the go to hex at mid to high level.
1. It's mind affecting, and past 8th-ish level you can't throw a rock without hitting a mind-immune opponent.
2. It's a sleep effect on top of that so easily removed (a Familiar or trained pet removes it so it costs the target nothing but a move action to stand up).
3. It doesn't scale. 1st level or 20th it's the same effect and same weaknesses.
And yes a Witch CAN have decent buff spells my comment wasn't that a witch should never buff, only that if you try to FOCUS on buffing you'll be disappointed. No witch can have access to most of the good buffs since they are scattered around the patrons list. It's frustrating to never be able to buff con if you ever wanna cast haste.
Fortune is a crappy hex by the way, it only works once per day. (yes you can extend it's duration with Cackle but it still only allows 1 re-roll per target per day. Everyone misses that part)
Finally the reason I rate spell Hex as high as I do is simple, total flexibility. They are CONSTANTLY adding first level spells to the game but new hexes are hard to come by. This feat lets you customize your powers list to fit your unique play style.
Let's say your a witch who focuses on summoning, take Hex: Summon Monster 1 + cackle and you ALWAYS have a summoned critter out (and since it's a spell hex it benefits from all your summon related feats/powers).
You want to be a melee-buffer then Spell Hex: Enlarge Person + Cackle. 3 times a day you have a standard action enlarge person that lasts as long as you want.
Or you want to be a Melee Debuffer? Spell Hex: Bungle + Cackle. The'll never succeed on an attack roll or skill check again.
My personal favorites currently are Spell Hex: Infernal Healing, Bungle and beguiling Gift. Imagine the possibilities when you mix those with Cackle.
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Extra Hex
Extra Hex
Extra Hex
Accursed Hex
Extra Hex
Extra Hex
Extra Hex
Extra Hex
Extra Hex
Extra Hex
Pretty much what he said. I'd consider making room for Improved Familiar and *maybe* Ability Focus (my favorite Hex), but that's a good start.
Toughness and Improved Initiative are never bad choices.
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Why would cackle work on spell hex?Finally the reason I rate spell Hex as high as I do is simple, total flexibility. They are CONSTANTLY adding first level spells to the game but new hexes are hard to come by. This feat lets you customize your powers list to fit your unique play style.
Let's say your a witch who focuses on summoning, take Hex: Summon Monster 1 + cackle and you ALWAYS have a summoned critter out (and since it's a spell hex it benefits from all your summon related feats/powers).
You want to be a melee-buffer then Spell Hex: Enlarge Person + Cackle. 3 times a day you have a standard action enlarge person that lasts as long as you want.
Or you want to be a Melee Debuffer? Spell Hex: Bungle + Cackle. The'll never succeed on an attack roll or skill check again.
My personal favorites currently are Spell Hex: Infernal Healing, Bungle and beguiling Gift. Imagine the possibilities when you mix those with Cackle.
Admittedly this only works in games where they allow you to add hexes to the effect of Cackle. I've been playing with the house ruled version of that Hex so long I keep forgetting the limitation built into it.
Mathwei: Yeah, I had to double check about your Cackle-Spell Hex claim. The other thing is, I don't think it makes any spells faster to cast. "A spell-like ability has a casting time of 1 standard action unless noted otherwise in the ability or spell description." I don't see Spell Hex say that it changes the casting time. Spell Hex is there if you want something still, silent, no ACF, with a better scaled DC, but you can still only target opponents (or allies if it has a save, like Enlarge does) once a day with it. I'm not sure I care that much about lvl 1 spells.
You're right that Slumber doesn't scale in effect (the DC scales like a charm, of course), but there's not really much for it to gain. It knocks out an opponent. It's true, as you level up you'll find more opponents immune to it, but the same fault applies to Evil Eye. Especially at the "Rocket Tag" level you describe, it sounds to me like action denial at the minimum, and an easy full attack/CdG at best, outweighs a decent penalty for the rest of combat.
General: I noticed that spell-like abilities are silent and still, though it doesn't say this about supernatural ones. Tis a shame.
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Mathwei: Yeah, I had to double check about your Cackle-Spell Hex claim. The other thing is, I don't think it makes any spells faster to cast. "A spell-like ability has a casting time of 1 standard action unless noted otherwise in the ability or spell description." I don't see Spell Hex say that it changes the casting time. Spell Hex is there if you want something still, silent, no ACF, with a better scaled DC, but you can still only target opponents (or allies if it has a save, like Enlarge does) once a day with it. I'm not sure I care that much about lvl 1 spells.
You're right that Slumber doesn't scale in effect (the DC scales like a charm, of course), but there's not really much for it to gain. It knocks out an opponent. It's true, as you level up you'll find more opponents immune to it, but the same fault applies to Evil Eye. Especially at the "Rocket Tag" level you describe, it sounds to me like action denial at the minimum, and an easy full attack/CdG at best, outweighs a decent penalty for the rest of combat.
General: I noticed that spell-like abilities are silent and still, though it doesn't say this about supernatural ones. Tis a shame.
Supernatural abilities are stilled & silent as well (the difference is none of these are called out as having verbal or somatic components).
Also take another look at spell hex, the language regarding savings throws and touch attacks are only regarding whether you can apply it to the target again if they save.If your ally doesn't take the saving throw you can apply it to them multiple times a day.
Also the purpose of this feat is to turn a spell into a hex, which makes it fall under the cardinal rule for hexes.
Unless otherwise noted, using a hex is a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
This is how it speeds up those full round spells.
Slumber is a great Hex and I highly recommend it but it is one you can skip without to much loss. The others I recommended are much more flexible and give more perks to the party.
I skipped out on Misfortune and Cackle on my Witch (currently level 6). Evil Eye and Slumber have been my big ones, but I also picked up Healing Hex and Flight for utility. Misfortune is amazing later on, but, as you mentioned, it's very difficult to keep up. The grace round after 8 is extremely helpful.
My wife's witch has ability focus (evil eye) and cackle, though given the guarantee of at least 1 round of evil eye and cackle, I may re-train her to ability focus (slumber). Other than that, improved initiative and as many extra hexes as you can get (misfortune, accursed hex, healing hex, and fortune come to mind).
Assuming I have her re-train, by 8th level with a 22 INT (20 + 2 bonus + 2 headband), her slumber DC will be 21 (10 + 7 + 4) with a -4 penalty on the save from evil eye, leaving baddies with a roll of 25 to keep from getting coup de grace'd by the fighter that stands next to them.