| Tunu40 |
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Been lurking about PF2e, and was really looking forward to the Witch class.
Personally, I think the Familiar is the actual core of the Witch mechanically and flavorfully. The Familiar is the face of the patron. It’s where the Witch’s magic comes from. Lose the Familiar, lose the spells, lose the connection to the Patron. When a new Familiar arrives, it’s like reclaiming a damaged spellbook.
So far, they have bonuses to the number of abilities Familiars can gain and even have a feat to boost the number of abilities. I think the witch playtest could’ve been a chance to try pushing that a little more.
Example/Ideas:
Knowledge Option feats:
-Once per short rest, your Familiar gains secret information from your Patron. Can reroll a Lore/Recall Knowledge check. Further feats increase the number of times
-Your familiar shares lessons beyond spells. Can apply your familiar’s skill proficiency to check rolls. Further feats can increase number of skills known. Should be balanced not to let the witch become a complete skill monkey, maybe somewhere similar to the bard’s level.
Spell Option feats: These could expand a witch’s spellcasting abilities.
-Your familiar divulges strange secrets. Pick another tradition allowed through your basic lessons. Can now learn and prepare spells of that tradition, but only up to lvl 3 spells.
-Your connection time your familiar has grown strong, when you cast a cantrip your familiar can cast the cantrip on another target within its range.
-Your familiar reveals the secret fundamentals of when magic was made. As a free action, when you cast a spell your familiar can use one of it’s actions to add one of your metamagic effects.
-Your familiar teaches you methods to intuit the nature of spells, during your daily preparations, you can choose a spell to become a Signature Spell. Further feats increase the number and how high they can heighten.
Combat Familiar options:
-Your familiar displays it’s true form. Sacrifice your highest level spellslots to turn your familiar into a larger form that can fight for you (more like a pseudo-companion let. Allows it to attack/tank/flank). The number of rounds is equal to the level of the spellslots. (Maybe other feats can boost its stats more)
-Your familiar unleashes your Patron’s power to aid you. Sacrifice a spellslots of your highest level, gain temp hp equal to your level and int mod for a number of rounds equal to the level of the spellslot sacrificed. During this time, gain +1 circumstance bonus to spell DC.
-Your familiar siphons the residual energy of a spell you just cast. Until the end of your turn, you or your familiar can deal 1d4 additional damage against a target you Strike against.
-Your familiar has taught you to coordinate casting spells through it. If delivering a spell through your familiar via the spell delivery master ability, your familiar can Stride at half it’s speed toward you as a Free action. (Prob a medium level feat)
Overall, I really love the whole patron and lesson system. I really liked how the iconic Witch art has her nine-tail fox familiar. I also think the Witch’s flavor and roleplay can create a varied experience. Not all witch’s are particularly happy being bestowed these gifts, and could range instead of a very close-knit relationship with their familiar to a hilarious “old-married” couple bantering. Could flavor witch’s to be like the demons from The Golden Compass series, to the guardian spirits of Nioh, or the traditional style of historical/mythological witches consorting with their familiars.