Witches can only teach their familiar Witch spells. If a Wizard made a scroll of a spell which also happens to be on the Witch spell list, then yes they can do that. However, if the spell in question is Wizard/Sorcerer only, then no, it does not work.
Blood transcription is probablu the best way for a witch to learn spells
To your specific question, she cannot learn the spell directly off of the scroll. But she can learn the spell via research (link at the bottom of this post) ;)
But you still don't get to teach your familiar non-witch spells.
Jeff, I wasn't able to find support for the idea that the Familiar must be taught the spell, its merely a storage facility and is otherwise just a spellbook. The section on the familiar is the only place which talks about this relationship:
A witch must commune with her familiar each day to prepare her spells. Familiars store all of the spells that a witch knows, and a witch cannot prepare a spell that is not stored by her familiar. A witch's familiar begins play storing all of the 0-level witch spells plus three 1st-level spells of the witch's choice. The witch also selects a number of additional 1st-level spells equal to her Intelligence modifier to store in her familiar. At each new witch level, she adds two new spells of any spell level or levels that she can cast (based on her new witch level) to her familiar. A witch can also add additional spells to her familiar through a special ritual (see sidebar).
And so the Familiar is simply the spellbook mechanic, not the source of her power. There are no specific prohibitions on storing non-stock witch spells in the familiar.
Researching new spells is an open question. There are no hard rules on what the limits are to what new spells can be researched.
But thejeff is right, this is more within the ballpark of where the answer lies.
The only way new spells come into being is through Independent Research. The rules for Independent research are as follows:
Independent Research: A wizard can also research a spell independently, duplicating an existing spell or creating an entirely new one. The cost to research a new spell, and the time required, are left up to GM discretion, but it should probably take at least 1 week and cost at least 1,000 gp per level of the spell to be researched. This should also require a number of Spellcraft and Knowledge (arcana) checks.
It calls out Wizards specifically as being able to do this. And so we'd need to look for a source which specifically grants other classes this same mechanical permission.
Further down the page it grants Sorcerers and Bards this permission via GM Fiat:
So we need to find something similar at least for the Witch, if not everyone.
Keep in mind that Patron Spells are not the same mechanic as a Witch's normal list of spells:
At 1st level, when a witch gains her familiar, she must also select a patron. This patron is a vague and mysterious force, granting the witch power for reasons that she might not entirely understand. While these forces need not be named, they typically hold influence over one of the following forces. At 2nd level, and every two levels thereafter, a witch's patron adds new spells to a witch's list of spells known. These spells are also automatically added to the list of spells stored by the familiar. Spells marked with an asterisk (*) appear in Chapter 5 of this book. The spells gained depend upon the patron chosen. Each patron is listed by its theme. Its actual name is up to the GM and the witch to decide.
We're not quite there though, so the Patron-spells restriction doesn't apply to her regular casting, but she's not a Wizard. Is there another permissive mechanic which allows her to do Independent Research?
[url=http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateMagic/magic/designingSpells.html]This Section[/url0 in UM grants all spell casters the ability to research new spells, as it doesn't specify specific classes, it applies to all.
And so using those rules, your Witch can create a new spell that emulates the spell of another class, and then store it in her Familiar. Not as fun as him eating it though ;)
Blood transcription is probablu the best way for a witch to learn spellsBut you still don't get to teach your familiar non-witch spells.
Yeah, I just confirmed that Furious Kender is absolutely correct, the spell doesn't specify only Witch spells, it calls out "another Caster" which is permission for Any caster.
By consuming 1 pint of blood from a spellcaster killed within the last 24 hours, you can attempt to learn a spell that spellcaster knew. Select one spell available to the dead spellcaster (this must be a spell on your spell list); you gain the knowledge of this spell for 24 hours. During this time, you may write it down (or teach it to your familiar, if you are a witch) using the normal rules for copying a spell from another source. Once you have learned it, you may prepare the spell normally.
She knows the spell for 24 hours, its now a spell she knows. And so by "using the normal rules for copying a spell from another source," a Witch may then prepare it normally. Those rules are described Here.
Blood transcription is probablu the best way for a witch to learn spellsBut you still don't get to teach your familiar non-witch spells.Yeah, I just confirmed that Furious Kender is absolutely correct, the spell doesn't specify only Witch spells, it calls out "another Caster" which is permission for Any caster.
By consuming 1 pint of blood from a spellcaster killed within the last 24 hours, you can attempt to learn a spell that spellcaster knew. Select one spell available to the dead spellcaster (this must be a spell on your spell list); you gain the knowledge of this spell for 24 hours. During this time, you may write it down (or teach it to your familiar, if you are a witch) using the normal rules for copying a spell from another source. Once you have learned it, you may prepare the spell normally.She knows the spell for 24 hours, its now a spell she knows. And so by "using the normal rules for copying a spell from another source," a Witch may then prepare it normally. Those rules are described Here.
If I understand you correctly you are asserting that a Witch could use "Blood Transcription" to learn non-Witch spells.
This is not true and is shown by the bolded portion of your own quote.
Ah :) Serves me right for skimming for the exact language that I was looking for. /happens. And thank you for the clarification.
Independent Research it is then.
Ah :) Serves me right for skimming for the exact language that I was looking for. /happens. And thank you for the clarification.
Independent Research it is then.
;-)
I do reccomend the following for anyone creating new spells. It is not perfect however it is a good start.
Now for some opinion.
Opinion: "Researching" spells for a caster that are on another casters list already can be very disruptive.
I would recommend adding at least a spell level to any "Swiped" spells or else things could get out of hand.
For example who would not want to research "Haste" as a second level spell? (Summoner List)
or
Who would not love to have "Heal" as a 6th level Arcane spell? (Cleric -> Wizard/Sorcerer List) Most of my players would even take it as a 7th level Arcane spell, if I did not forbid it.
Some spells on the other hand would not be that disruptive and may or may not need adjustment.
For example I do not feel that anyone would be upset if a Witch researched for instance "Knock" as a second level spell.
In short I feel that spell research is very like custom magic item creation and needs to be monitored carefully.
Please note this is just my opinion and take it with a grain of salt.
The way I usually handle spells swiped from other classes is this :
Lots of gold, lots of time (the 1 week/1000 gold per level). By 1 week, I use the formula 7 * 24 * Spell Level = Hours of Research.
Then, I look at the highest Caster Level for the spell, then set the new spell to a spell level to + 1 for the new caster, but it's modified for caster classes who are not full casters. For example, if a spell is on the Sorcerer/Wizard, Bard, and Druid lists, then I take the highest CL of those (in our example, let's say Bard get's it as a 4th level spell). This gives it a Caster Level of 10 for Bards.
Then, I look at the class it's moving to (let's say Cleric). If I do a Straight Caster Level comparison, 10th level for a Cleric would be 5th level spell. I'm good with that. If it was a 2nd level spell for a Paladin (a 4 level casting class), that would be a CL 7 spell. For a cleric, a CL of 7 equals a 5th level spell.
Going the other way is much harder, of course. For going the other way (from a full class to a partial caster), I just add one to the highest spell level it's available as. That means a Bard simply can't learn a 6th level spell from another class.
It's short and dirty, but seems to work well.
Oh, on a side note, I don't include spells granted by things like domains, bloodlines, or others to count, just the spells that are on class lists. Avoids headaches.
Rule nr 0: If the DM allows it, and it's cool :D
Not to forget how many useful non wizard spells you have on your witch spell list... e.g. cure spells. As full caster with fastest access to high level spells, the witch is the only arcane class that has these.
In short I feel that spell research is very like custom magic item creation and needs to be monitored carefully.
I absolutely agree. My magus currently has plans to invent two spells, which I've already gotten approved by my DM. It's a powerful tool that let's players be creative both thematically, and in developing their characters' abilities.
That said, just like custom magic items or options from splatbooks/3rd-party sources, the GM has to be very careful to understand each thing he's allowing into his game, and decide whether or not it's going to disrupt game balance.