Witch things should I choose?


Advice


Hello pathfinder players I'm thinking of playing a witch for the next campaign I'm going to be in. It's going to be urban setting and start at level four. I'm wondering what are some good items I should get with my money? Should I just get beads and an int booster alongside a wand and some armor? Is there any good items that improve hexes? What are some easy ways to increase dcs for spells and hexes other than int increases? Also does anyone know of some inspirational reading material to get ideas from for playing a witch? Thanks again!


Black_Lantern wrote:
Hello pathfinder players I'm thinking of playing a witch for the next campaign I'm going to be in. It's going to be urban setting and start at level four. I'm wondering what are some good items I should get with my money? Should I just get beads and an int booster alongside a wand and some armor? Is there any good items that improve hexes? What are some easy ways to increase dcs for spells and hexes other than int increases? Also does anyone know of some inspirational reading material to get ideas from for playing a witch? Thanks again!

U can increase DCs by Spellfocus or Ability Focus(hex). U can cast Ill Omen as quickend spell so the oponent has to roll twice.

With evil eye u can decrease the save by -4.
U should combine the 2 if possible. First round evil eye, second round quickend spell ill omen + save or die (for example polymorph with 2 times Spellfocus).


I don't know what "beads" you are referring, but a Headband of Vast Intellect should be your number one priority. A healthy supply of wands is also great, especially for utility spells, though they are slightly less important to you than to a wizard. A wizard with nothing better to do might as well use a low-level wand, but you will be busy spamming your hexes.

Armor is not a good option. Actual armor interferes with your spellcasting, which is the last thing you want. Bracers of Armor are expensive for what they do (16000 to equal Mage Armor), and will never offer enough protection to really be worth it. Defensive spells help, though Witches don't actually get many of the best ones. Just... make sure the fighter stands in front of you.

Sczarni

Mort the Cleverly Named wrote:

I don't know what "beads" you are referring, but a Headband of Vast Intellect should be your number one priority. A healthy supply of wands is also great, especially for utility spells, though they are slightly less important to you than to a wizard. A wizard with nothing better to do might as well use a low-level wand, but you will be busy spamming your hexes.

Armor is not a good option. Actual armor interferes with your spellcasting, which is the last thing you want. Bracers of Armor are expensive for what they do (16000 to equal Mage Armor), and will never offer enough protection to really be worth it. Defensive spells help, though Witches don't actually get many of the best ones. Just... make sure the fighter stands in front of you.

But you can add on other abilities to the bracers of armor...minor fortification, spell resistance, etc. They are basically treated as armor and can be enchanted that way.


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ossian666 wrote:
But you can add on other abilities to the bracers of armor...minor fortification, spell resistance, etc. They are basically treated as armor and can be enchanted that way.

This is not a particularly good reason to use them. You can't add flat cost enhancements to them, which leaves Spell Resistance, Ghost Touch, Invulnerability, and Fortification. Spell Resistance is expensive to the point that, by the time you can afford it, it isn't likely to stop much of anything. "Mage Armor" already gets the equivalent of Ghost Touch, so equivalent bracers would cost 49,000gp. Invulnerability is good against lots of weak attacks, and Fortification might save you from a one-hit-kill, but you are still paying a lot for unlikely scenarios.

Your money will be better sent on metamagic rods, intelligence boosters, and non-AC based defenses. If you want AC, a combination of Mage Armor, Ring of Protection, and Amulet of Natural Armor will be cheaper and better than Bracers.

Sczarni

Mort the Cleverly Named wrote:
ossian666 wrote:
But you can add on other abilities to the bracers of armor...minor fortification, spell resistance, etc. They are basically treated as armor and can be enchanted that way.

This is not a particularly good reason to use them. You can't add flat cost enhancements to them, which leaves Spell Resistance, Ghost Touch, Invulnerability, and Fortification. Spell Resistance is expensive to the point that, by the time you can afford it, it isn't likely to stop much of anything. "Mage Armor" already gets the equivalent of Ghost Touch, so equivalent bracers would cost 49,000gp. Invulnerability is good against lots of weak attacks, and Fortification might save you from a one-hit-kill, but you are still paying a lot for unlikely scenarios.

Your money will be better sent on metamagic rods, intelligence boosters, and non-AC based defenses. If you want AC, a combination of Mage Armor, Ring of Protection, and Amulet of Natural Armor will be cheaper and better than Bracers.

But wearing the bracers will give you that slot to add fortification or that...sure the armor doesn't stack because the mage armor will over write it, but that still gives you the capability of adding a few magic upgrades there.


puksone wrote:
U can increase DCs by [..] Ability Focus(hex)

No, you can't. The prereq for that feat is "Speical attacks" and no where are hexex listed or stated as a special attack. In fact, it's a normal feature of the Witch class.

Dark Archive

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ossian666 wrote:
Mort the Cleverly Named wrote:
ossian666 wrote:
But you can add on other abilities to the bracers of armor...minor fortification, spell resistance, etc. They are basically treated as armor and can be enchanted that way.

This is not a particularly good reason to use them. You can't add flat cost enhancements to them, which leaves Spell Resistance, Ghost Touch, Invulnerability, and Fortification. Spell Resistance is expensive to the point that, by the time you can afford it, it isn't likely to stop much of anything. "Mage Armor" already gets the equivalent of Ghost Touch, so equivalent bracers would cost 49,000gp. Invulnerability is good against lots of weak attacks, and Fortification might save you from a one-hit-kill, but you are still paying a lot for unlikely scenarios.

Your money will be better sent on metamagic rods, intelligence boosters, and non-AC based defenses. If you want AC, a combination of Mage Armor, Ring of Protection, and Amulet of Natural Armor will be cheaper and better than Bracers.

But wearing the bracers will give you that slot to add fortification or that...sure the armor doesn't stack because the mage armor will over write it, but that still gives you the capability of adding a few magic upgrades there.

and if you are desperate just for that capability then you either purchase Silken Ceremonial Armor (Ultimate Combat, +1AC 0% ASF, 0% ACP 30GP) or the Haramaki which is the same but only costs 3GP.

You can put all the same effects PLUS all the ones that are restricted to real armor and spend a FRACTION of the cost you would for bracers and still have the wrist slot open for actual useful magic bracers.

Sczarni

Mathwei ap Niall wrote:
ossian666 wrote:
Mort the Cleverly Named wrote:
ossian666 wrote:
But you can add on other abilities to the bracers of armor...minor fortification, spell resistance, etc. They are basically treated as armor and can be enchanted that way.

This is not a particularly good reason to use them. You can't add flat cost enhancements to them, which leaves Spell Resistance, Ghost Touch, Invulnerability, and Fortification. Spell Resistance is expensive to the point that, by the time you can afford it, it isn't likely to stop much of anything. "Mage Armor" already gets the equivalent of Ghost Touch, so equivalent bracers would cost 49,000gp. Invulnerability is good against lots of weak attacks, and Fortification might save you from a one-hit-kill, but you are still paying a lot for unlikely scenarios.

Your money will be better sent on metamagic rods, intelligence boosters, and non-AC based defenses. If you want AC, a combination of Mage Armor, Ring of Protection, and Amulet of Natural Armor will be cheaper and better than Bracers.

But wearing the bracers will give you that slot to add fortification or that...sure the armor doesn't stack because the mage armor will over write it, but that still gives you the capability of adding a few magic upgrades there.

and if you are desperate just for that capability then you either purchase Silken Ceremonial Armor (Ultimate Combat, +1AC 0% ASF, 0% ACP 30GP) or the Haramaki which is the same but only costs 3GP.

You can put all the same effects PLUS all the ones that are restricted to real armor and spend a FRACTION of the cost you would for bracers and still have the wrist slot open for actual useful magic bracers.

Don't even get me started on Asian Adventure crap...


Mort the Cleverly Named wrote:

I don't know what "beads" you are referring, but a Headband of Vast Intellect should be your number one priority. A healthy supply of wands is also great, especially for utility spells, though they are slightly less important to you than to a wizard. A wizard with nothing better to do might as well use a low-level wand, but you will be busy spamming your hexes.

Armor is not a good option. Actual armor interferes with your spellcasting, which is the last thing you want. Bracers of Armor are expensive for what they do (16000 to equal Mage Armor), and will never offer enough protection to really be worth it. Defensive spells help, though Witches don't actually get many of the best ones. Just... make sure the fighter stands in front of you.

The beads that give extra spell slots. I'm aware of spell failure I'm just also aware of the fact that you can get around that. Btw what are some worthwhile wands other than mage armor.


Black_Lantern wrote:
The beads that give extra spell slots. I'm aware of spell failure I'm just also aware of the fact that you can get around that. Btw what are some worthwhile wands other than mage armor.

Ah! You means Pearls of Power? Those are great. Buy a sack full. Preferably a handy haversack full.

There are ways to get around spell failure, but they aren't terribly pleasant. Still spell will do it, but adding a spell level to everything is not a good trade off. A Rod of Still Spell gets around the tradeoff, but is expensive and limited (especially for higher level stuff). Arcane Armor Training eats your swift action (painful after you get into Quicken Spell territory), and feats (lots, if you don't dip fighter). In the end, you have to ask yourself "how much am I willing to pay for the benefit this gives over Mage Armor?"

That said, it is a less bad choice for witches than wizards, since your hexes are unaffected. It still wouldn't be my choice, but it isn't the end of the world.

For wands, Cure Light Wounds is a given. Best healing in the game. I also like Remove Disease, since it doesn't come up that much, but when it does you usually need a lot of it. Same goes for Delay Poison. See Invisible is an option if you sense lots of invisible foes in the future, but otherwise you might be better off with a few scrolls. Depending on your Patron, there might be others. Just remember to avoid anything with a saving throw or a duration that is going to matter.


Mort the Cleverly Named wrote:
Black_Lantern wrote:
The beads that give extra spell slots. I'm aware of spell failure I'm just also aware of the fact that you can get around that. Btw what are some worthwhile wands other than mage armor.

Ah! You means Pearls of Power? Those are great. Buy a sack full. Preferably a handy haversack full.

There are ways to get around spell failure, but they aren't terribly pleasant. Still spell will do it, but adding a spell level to everything is not a good trade off. A Rod of Still Spell gets around the tradeoff, but is expensive and limited (especially for higher level stuff). Arcane Armor Training eats your swift action (painful after you get into Quicken Spell territory), and feats (lots, if you don't dip fighter). In the end, you have to ask yourself "how much am I willing to pay for the benefit this gives over Mage Armor?"

That said, it is a less bad choice for witches than wizards, since your hexes are unaffected. It still wouldn't be my choice, but it isn't the end of the world.

For wands, Cure Light Wounds is a given. Best healing in the game. I also like Remove Disease, since it doesn't come up that much, but when it does you usually need a lot of it. Same goes for Delay Poison. See Invisible is an option if you sense lots of invisible foes in the future, but otherwise you might be better off with a few scrolls. Depending on your Patron, there might be others. Just remember to avoid anything with a saving throw or a duration that is going to matter.

Any debuff spells that you recommend that are level 1 or 2?


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Black_Lantern wrote:
Any debuff spells that you recommend that are level 1 or 2?

There are lots of fun ones. Ear-Piercing Scream is a great use of a slot, as a combined blast/daze effect. Command is also great, taking your opponent out of the fight for a round and leaving them in a worse position. The Blindness half of Blindness-Deafness can make enemies basically useless, and Glitterdust has that effect on a group PLUS some extra utility. Mad Hallucination, Unprepared Combatant, and Pox Pustules are nice to stack onto an enemy you already hit with the Evil Eye and Misfortune to give them truly, epicly terrible saves.

Of these, Command probably makes the best wand. The 1d6 damage from Ear-Piercing Scream gets negligible pretty fast, and the effects of Command can be much worse than one round of dazed. It is also a nice and cheap level 1 (I hate spending 90gp for one shot from a level 2 wand). However, my personal recommendation would be to only bother with debuff wands after you have a familiar with Use Magic Device. You can cripple the enemies saves, while your familiar hits them with wand spells for the kill.

I would also like to make one special mention. Witches have an inordinate number of ways of giving someone a terrible Reflex save. Evil Eye, Unprepared Combatant, and Pox Pustules combine for a -8 to -12 to Reflex. Remember that familiar with Use Magic Device I recommended? Give them a Wand of Grease. Monsters aren't so scary when they can't hold their weapons or stand on their feet.

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