At 1st level, a scarred witch doctor forms a bond with a wooden mask. As she gains power, her connection to this mask causes it to grow ever more hideous and grotesque as it absorbs the weight of the self-induced pain that underlies her magic. Her spells derive from the insights her patron grants her while she's enduring the cuts, burns, and other sorts of mutilations she inflicts upon herself. Her fetish mask acts in all ways like a witch's familiar for the purpose of preparing and gaining spells. Rather than communing with a familiar to prepare spells each day, a scarred witch doctor hangs her mask on a wall, tree branch, or something similar and contemplates the agony it represents.
When wearing her fetish mask, a scarred witch doctor gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Heal and Intimidate checks and gains a +2 bonus on saving throws against effects that specifically cause pain or have the pain descriptor. If the mask is destroyed, the witch doctor can create another fetish mask (which almost immediately adopts the shocking appearance of the original) for the same price and time it takes a witch to replace a dead familiar.
At 5th level, the scarred witch doctor gains the ability to add magical abilities to her mask as if she had the Craft Wondrous Item feat.
This ability otherwise functions like and replaces the standard witch familiar.
So it has the hitpoints of a familiar and grants alertness when I'm wearing it? Is it intelligent too? This is a little strange too me and I just don't quite get it. Can someone who knows please help. SKR, JJ, or whoever wrote the class I'm looking at you.
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it replaces the familiar - other than what is says - you don't get any of the other familiar benefits (such as alertness)
*edit* I take that back - other than the fact that it can't really deliver touch spells - I'd say heck yeah make it intelligent - talk to your mask :)
That's how I was feeling it seems to gain all of the abilties and I am playing one in a pbp and kinda need to know. It says its a familiar the wording is just strange wonder why they didn't call it a bonded object and add the other abilities.
The statement is that the fetish mask acts like familiar "for the purpose of preparing and gaining spells." From the text, I would rule that it has the hp of a wooden mask, is not intelligent, and does not grant alertness. It cannot do other things normal familiars can, like delivering touch spells. The only bonuses it grants are the +2's in the description. The real power of the mask is the ability to enchant it without the Craft Wonderous Item feat.
It's not THAT kind of fetish, it refers to the older meaning of the word. You may have seen african or Amerind shamanic masks, think along more of those lines.
I know that was to grab attention lol.
Yeah and at the end it says otherwise functions like. it says all it can do in the description so why is that at the end. I'm fine with it working either way I just want to be sure....