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I noticed that there wasn't really an archetype for a refined witch, an urban witch, a city witch. Inspired by folklore and fairy tales, Harry Potter and Howl's Moving Castle, I endeavored to come up with a witch who was more focused on existing in an urban environment, using charms arcane tools tools to her advantage. Maneuverable, mysterious, and perhaps not so shady as other sorts of witch, I had a blast making this archetype! Hopefully you all enjoy, but I welcome criticism and hope for some suggestions on how to tweak the build to make it better.
Without further ado:
Spells
A cobblewitch replaces some of her patron spells with the following: 2nd – urban grace, 4th – knock, 8th – illusory wall, 10th – passwall
Charms and Knick-Knacks
At 2nd level, a cobblewitch learns to use an implement school, as an occultist, and gains 2 points of mental focus to invest in this school. She learns the base focus power of the school and may use the implements just like an occultist, counting her witch level as her occultist level for the purposes of determining the effects of resonant and focus powers. She does not gain spells from the implements, nor does she require them to cast spells – they are entirely separate from her spellcasting ability, which is still derived from her familiar. Finally, the witch gains Craft Wondrous Items as a bonus feat. This ability replaces the witch hexes gained at 2nd and 6th level.
- Improved Charms
At any level the cobblewitch would gain a new hex, she may instead choose to gain a new focus power in her implement school. If she does this, she gains an additional 2 points of mental focus.
Hexes
The following witch hexes complement the cobblewitch archetype: cauldron, tapstone*, animate objects*, tongues, and ward.
Major Hexes
The following major hexes complement the cobblewitch archetype: poltergeist*, hidden home, hag's eye, witch's brew
Grand Hexes
The following grand hexes complement the cobblewitch archetype: road to nowhere*, witch's hut
2nd – urban grace, 4th – silent table, 6th – seek thoughts, 8th – share senses, 10th – passwall, 12th – veil, 14th – phase door, 16th – maze, 18th – refuge
- Animate Objects: A witch with this hex can animate mundane household objects to perform their intended function. For a number of hours equal to her level, the object obediently performs its intended action or actions on command – a chair pulls in or out, a teakettle pours cups of tea, a skillet cooks of its own accord, etc. This ability may not be used to make attacks in any way, nor can weapons be animated in this fashion.
- Tapstone: With this hex, the witch knocks on a small piece of worked or unworked stone (such as a small rock, or a brick) to designate it as a tapstone. For a number of days equal to her witch level, the witch may listen to any sounds near the tapstone as if she were there, no matter her location. Listening to the tapstone is distracting – while she is listening, the witch takes a -5 penalty to perception checks. Only one tapstone may be active at a time.
- Major Hex – Poltergeist: The witch hexes an object of up to Large size and causes it to fly rapidly towards its intended target. This is made as a ranged attack with a range increment of 10 feet. The witch is considered proficient with this attack. The object deals damage as a falling object of its size, and the witch applies her Intelligence modifier as a bonus to the damage roll. A given object may only be affected by this hex once every 24 hours.
- Grand Hex – Road to Nowhere: The witch causes a creature to become hopelessly lost in a perceived impenetrable maze of winding streets, twisting forest paths, or other confusing tangle of seemingly contradictory passageways. A creature affected by this hex is confined to an area no smaller than 40,000 square feet (200 by 200 feet) and wanders this area in a stupor, unable to find a way out. A successful Will save negates this effect, and the subject gains an additional Will save to escape each day they are trapped in the illusory maze. This is a mind-affecting effect.
Hey Axis!
The archetype looks really cool, I really like the idea. A couple of things:
As is, it's restricted to one implement school. It might be a balance thing, but allowing the archetype to trade a hex (perhaps only at minimum levels, 8 and 16?) might give some more diversity.
Animate object might be slightly underpowered, maybe give it a 1/day animate objects SLA?
As for tapstone, does the penalty also apply to checks through the stone? As written, it implies it's mostly on other checks.
I hope the feedback is useful, and wish you good luck with the archetype!
Arcturus
Hey, I appreciate the feedback! Yeah, I was wondering how I could add more implement schools, might add a line about that to Improved Charms. As for animate objects, yeah, that's a pretty good idea. I don't know how to change it just yet - hexes seem odd for 1/day abilities, but it might work out. I shall think on it!
In my opinion tapstone should have the penalty apply to other checks - the witch is concentrating on listening to it, and the rest of the world is a little bit hard to focus on. I'll clarify that.
EDIT:
*changes in bold*
At any level the cobblewitch would gain a new hex, she may instead choose to gain a new focus power in her implement school. If she does this, she gains an additional 2 points of mental focus. If the witch is at least 8th level, she may instead select a second implement school to learn in place of gaining a new focus power. If the witch is at least 16th level, she may select a third implement school.
A witch with this hex can animate mundane household objects to perform their intended function. For a number of hours equal to her level, the object obediently performs its intended action or actions on command – a chair pulls in or out, a teakettle pours cups of tea, a skillet cooks of its own accord, etc. This ability may not be used to make conventional attacks, but the witch may have the animated objects assault a creature according to its function - a chair might rapidly pull out from under someone, a pot might pour boiling water on someone or cover their eyes, etc. A creature may only be assaulted in such a fashion once every 24 hours.
With this hex, the witch knocks on a small piece of worked or unworked stone (such as a small rock, or a brick) to designate it as a tapstone. For a number of days equal to her witch level, the witch may listen to any sounds near the tapstone as if she were there, no matter her location. Listening to the tapstone is distracting – while she is listening, the witch takes a -5 penalty to other perception checks. Only one tapstone may be active at a time.
Hey all, I had so much fun making this archetype that I actually ended up making some more hexes and patrons! I figured this thread would be a better place to post them since I didn't want to devote a whole new thread to a handful of witch goodies. They're pretty flavor heavy, but I do feel some of the wording got clunky and ran away from me a bit. Anyway, here they are:
*First, a changelog for the Cities patron. Changes in bold.*
2nd – urban grace, 4th – silent table, 6th – seek thoughts, 8th – share senses, 10th – truespeak, 12th – envious urge, 14th – statue, 16th – discern location, 18th – refuge
*On with the show!*
Passages
2nd – detect secret doors, 4th – knock, 6th – enter image, 8th – dimension door, 10th – passwall, 12th – find the path, 14th – phase door, 16th – maze, 18th – gate
Veils
2nd – forced quiet, 4th – invisibility, 6th – nondetection, 8th – detect scrying, 10th – mage's private sanctum, 12th – veil, 14th – sequester, 16th – screen, 18th – etherealness
- Fortune's Flagstones: The witch hexes the stone and dirt beneath a target creature's feet as a standard action, causing them to either aid and support the target or hinder the target (witch's choice). If she chooses to aid the creature, the ground flattens as the creature walks and rises to support its weight should it be thrown off balance. The creature counts difficult terrain as normal terrain and receives a +4 bonus to its CMD against trip attempts. If the witch chooses to impede the creature, it counts all terrain as difficult terrain, and takes a -4 penalty to its CMD against trip attempts. A successful Reflex save negates this harmful effect. In either case, the effect lasts a number of rounds equal to the witch's intelligence modifier. A creature may only be affected by this hex once every 24 hours.
- Ghost Lantern: The witch hexes a lamp or lantern as a move action, causing it to glow with an unearthly blue flame. The lamp now illuminates an area within 15 feet, increasing the light level by one step, up to dim light. Any creature on the Ethereal Plane within this illumination is partially brought into the Material Plane, and may be damaged – it takes half damage from normal damage and effects, and may interact with the world around it in some physical sense, gaining a 20% miss chance on any attempt to do so. A witch may have only one ghost lantern in effect at any time.
- Major Hex – Shortcut: A witch with this hex may designate a 50 foot by 50 foot area as a destination by use of a special ritual that takes an hour and involves 500gp of rare herbs and materials. As long as the witch is in the same general area as this destination (the same city, the same forest, etc.), she may travel and mysteriously reach the destination within a minute of travel. The method by which the witch appears varies – she might turn into an alleyway and find that the passage leads directly to the designated area, or find that the area was conveniently close by all along. Regardless, the witch appears at a random location at the edge of the designated area (determined by the GM). Anyone who maintains a line of sight to the witch during this travel may follow her – enemies and allies alike. Only one area may be so designated at a time.
- Grand Hex – Damnatio Memoriae: With this hex, a witch severs a target's connection to the world. The creature gains the following curse: Damnatio Memoriae Hex – type curse; save Will negates; frequency 1/day; effect special, see text. Every day that the target is under the curse, they find that people slowly pay less and less attention to their presence, and find it difficult to interact with people around them in a meaningful way. Any creature interacting with the target must make a DC 15 perception check to interact with the target beyond a short sentence or two. Furthermore, people begin to forget the target. A creature must make a DC 15 Will save to remember the target. A creature that is familiar with the target gains a +10 to this check. Both DC's increase by one each day that the curse remains, to a maximum of DC 30. Finally, if the curse persists on a creature for a full month, the curse effect ends and they are transported permanently to the ethereal plane, forever unable to interact with the world around them. An ethereal creature removed from the material plane in this fashion may not be restored by any means short of a miracle or wish. This curse can be removed with a remove curse or similar magic, using the save DC as the DC to remove the curse. A witch may only have one such curse in effect at a time. If a new one is made, the old one immediately ends.
Hmm...
Charms and Knick-Knacks seems a bit powerful to be used right away. Perhaps the Craft Wondrous Item gets pushed back to 6th, and the mental focus becomes something like INT modifier instead of 2? Or perhaps 1/2 Witch level + INT modifier, like the Psychometrist Vigilante archetype?
Also, perhaps the option to pick another focus power instead of a hex (available only once) and the option to pick another implement school instead of a major hex (also only once)? Or is that digging too deep?
Also, it would be cool if you could turn a tapstone into a sort of seeing stone, as a major hex.
Hey Self, thanks for the input, I greatly appreciate the feedback!
I'm not sure what you're suggesting for Charms and Knick-Knacks. Are you saying the power needs a buff or a nerf? Craft Wondrous Item, I would argue, isn't really that much of a buff as a bonus feat. Any spellcaster can take the feat at 3rd level, after all. However, you then suggest adding more mental focus - considerably more - to the power. I don't have an issue with that on paper. I did wonder if I was lowballing things with only 2 points of mental focus. I suppose I'm just unclear on what precisely the suggestion is.
As for allowing new focus powers and implement schools, are you suggesting restricting the options given under Improved Charms to one additional focus power or one additional implement school? I have to say I respectfully disagree on the first bit, as I think focus powers and witch hexes are about on the same playing field. However, I can see an argument for restricting the schools the witch has available, given that she's already a full spellcaster. I don't know - are there any compelling balance reasons to restrict the schools available to 2 rather than 3? Thinking about it.
Lastly, yeah, having tapstone be a full on spy stone is a pretty cool idea! I think having the hex simply upgrade to have that capability at 10th level might be a nice way to implement it - seems pretty weak for a major hex. What are your thoughts?
Improved Charms should be one focus power, since more would be stealing some of the Occultist's thunder (their focus powers are pretty much 1 every 2 levels). If you want to keep it at 3 implement schools, perhaps you could have the option to pick another school as a major hex, and the option to pick another school and an extra one (beyond the bonus one from school) as a grand hex?
2 points seems to be an arbitrary number, and it doesn't really scale without extra investment. That's all.
Pushing the craft feat back to 6th is to give you a thing at 6th level, since you give up the hex at that level. If there's something else that would be a better feature to give at 6th, feel free to ignore my suggestions.
Yeah, it seems that Tapstone would be better if it automatically scaled. Perhaps it could function as Scrying later on? Or perhaps you could have the option to set up several Tapstones?
Some very valid points, and a nice idea on tapstone. What do you think of this?
(PS @Chris: Thank you much!)
*changes in bold*
At 2nd level, a cobblewitch learns to use an implement school, as an occultist, and gains a number of mental focus points equal to her Intelligence modifier to invest in this school. At 6th level, and every 6 levels thereafter, she gains an additional point of mental focus to invest in this school. She learns the base focus power of the school and may use the implements just like an occultist, counting her witch level as her occultist level for the purposes of determining the effects of resonant and focus powers. She does not gain spells from the implements, nor does she require them to cast spells – they are entirely separate from her spellcasting ability, which is still derived from her familiar. Finally, at 6th level, the witch gains Craft Wondrous Items as a bonus feat. This ability replaces the witch hexes gained at 2nd and 6th level.
If she is at least 10th level, the witch may forgo selecting a major hex to learn a second implement school and gain an additional focus power for her original school. If she is at least 18th level and has learned a second implement school, the witch may forgo selecting a grand hex to learn a third implement school and gain an additional focus power for each of her previously selected schools.
With this hex, the witch knocks on a small piece of worked or unworked stone (such as a small rock, or a brick) to designate it as a tapstone. For a number of days equal to her witch level, the witch may listen to any sounds near the tapstone as if she were there, no matter her location. If the witch is 10th level, the stone may also allow vision at the area, as though it were a stationary sensor for the arcane eye spell. The witch may only listen or look, she may not do both at once (Though she may switch between the two functions). Seeing or listening through the tapstone is distracting – while she is using the tapstone, the witch takes a -5 penalty to other perception checks. The witch may have a number of tapstones active equal to 1/4 her witch level (minimum 1). Only one tapstone may be listened at or looked through at a time.