For a variety of reasons I may be making my first witch character for a new PbP campaign.
From the intro, we suspect that undead may be a significant portion of the opposition. I have read that witches typically have serious problems dealing with undead. I will not be the primary undead killer, we have a cleric. I also don’t like ever being completely helpless in a combat.
How would you make a witch that sometimes has to deal with undead?
Which patron, feats, hexs, and/or spells would you be certain to include?
Note: I don't think the GM will allow the Plague patron, since he doesn't want any PC's being the type that would create undead. They wouldn't fit in with the team and backstory.
The occult patron grants command undead.
Maybe ask your GM if you can swap the level 12 create undead spell for something else.
The Light patron gives some stuff, but most of the anti-undead stuff is higher level.
Elements patron will give you some blasty stuff that works against undead.
Very few witch hexes have an effect on undead. Protective ones like ward or healing hexes will have use in fights against them.
You'll always have some things to do, but honestly, in a primarily undead fighting campaign, witch would not be my first choice.
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Threnodic and thanatopic metamagic feats.
Also the Spirits patron gives you the ability to cast Ghostbane Dirge, so if there is the possibility of facing incoporeal undead its something to look into.
I am playing a witch in our Carrion Crown campaign, which has a fair amount of undead. She has the healing patron, but that's mostly because our clerics keep coming and going. Right now, the party doesn't have any cleric - just the witch and a paladin.
The Healing hex has come in handy, since it does do damage to undead.
You want to find ways to deliver your spells at range, as I've found most of the witch's are touch attacks. Sometimes, you really don't want to touch an undead that you know is level draining! I recommend getting the spell Spectral Hand (level 2 witch spell) as soon as you may, as it'll allow you to deliver touch spells without putting yourself or your familiar at such risk. Spectral hand will also allow you to make touch attacks on incorporeal creatures (because it is, itself, incorporeal).
Aside from a two-spell combo using spectral hand (which has a decent duration), my witch mostly focuses on using buffs to protect the front line fighters of the party - the Ward hex and the 4th level spell Death Ward are good buffs when fighting undead. She also has spells like Sanctify Corpse, Gentle Repose, & Decompose Corpse to help prevent new undead, but she is a follower of Pharasma and detests even the thought of undead. She has no interest in controlling them, just sending the poor souls on for final judgment in Pharasma's halls. Your witch's motivation may very, of course.
If you're expecting incorporeal undead, the Ectoplasmic metamagic feat is a good one, too.
Choose the time patron. :) Haste is nice.
We don't currently know what kind of undead, just that we will probably be clearing corrupted shires that used to be filled with LG followers.
Corrupted shrines just screams undead. But I don't know that the campaign will be heavy with undead. But we seem pretty sure to see them for at least the first several levels.
I never though about the spirit patron, I will look into it.
I will consider the threnodic or thanatopic feat. Doubt I would get both.
I will ask about switching the spells on the list, but I get the impression he doesn't want to do much monkeyshines with the RAW.
Better off buffing in such circumstances, unless you're willing to be a Grave Witch by archetype.
Hedge Witch can spontaneously cast cure spells mix that with spectral hand (Int+BAB to hit range 100ft.), is good way to deal damage at range.
Command Undead through Occults patron.
Fortune melee fighters to give them a re-roll vs. the inevitable fort save.
Threnodic and thanatopic metamagic feats.
Both require spell focus (necromancy). Does the witch have enough necromantic spells for this to be a good choice. At first glance, I see a few but not that many that I would call great.
Threnodic inreases the spell level by 2 to allow mind affecting spells to affect undead. Witch has lots of mind affecting spells. But I still wouldn't be able to use it before 5th level and it costs 2 feats. I will consider it, but it is not a low level solution.
Thanatopic increases the spell level by 2 to allow death, negative levels, and energy drain to affect the target. I don't see any on the witch list until 6th level spells meaning I wouldn't be able to make use of this feat until 15th level. This doesn't seem very useful to me.
And? They're options. Nothing guarantees potency at level one. To expect it is to show you're wanting to play a different game than Pathfinder. In the interim blast them or something. With two feats that opens up undead to the majority of effects that classically don't affect them. It's a great return for the options they provide.
Didn't specify guaranteed potency at level 1. But I did say I thought we would be encountering significant undead in the first few levels. (Yes that was after your post.) I didn't say they were horrible or that you shouldn't have suggested them. I just don't think the one fits my needs and am still considering the other.
It seems like the misfortune hex along with the spells chill touch, burning hands, cure light wounds, mage armor, burning gaze, cure moderate wounds, spectral hand and possibly whatever my patron gives me should be adequate.
I had read several statements on these forums that said witches (especially low level) had a hard time with undead. So I thought I'd see what people recommend.
Threnodic is a possibility if the skill focus necromancy isn't a complete waste for my witch. I will look through the witch spell list to see if there are enough necromancy spells (that I am likely to use) to make it worthwhile. It is a mid level solution that is still under consideration. Though I don't know if we will still be in the undead areas by 5th level.
This thread is a few month old but I'm interested in hearing about how things turned out. I will be startng at level 6 with a new character in an undead heavy game and the witch had always looked like a lot of fun.
Unfortunately, RL made it necessary for me to drop out of the campaign before we really did much of anything.
I think he would have been a halfway decent support character, but I don't really know that.
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Misfortune is a great Hex that works on Undead, as well as everything else.
Web Bolt isn't bad single-target control, either, and at 2nd level, Web. Bestow Curse, Lightning Bolt, and Twilight Knife at 3rd make for a more expansive selection, as do Volcanic Storm, Wreath of Blades, and Web Cloud at 4th. And so on and so forth.
And that's not counting buff spells, Patron spells, or Cure spells, either.
Instead of Ward, go with Fortune. Ward goes away after it gets pierced once whereas Fortune can last more than one round with cackle (though you can only benefit from it once per round.) The Witch is always best with buffing/debuffing. Sure you can't charm or evil eye but that is still your focus. Unless your character is a healer then you'd should *have* to go for the healing patron. My favorite patron, Deception, doesn't offer much against the undead and neither do many of the hexes but you are still a tier 1 class and that means you should be able to adapt.