I'm building a first-level Witch for a new group, all of whom are total rookies, some of which have never played before. I'm probably the most experienced player, but even I'm still pretty green.
The other members of the party are a Paladin, a Swashbuckler, a Ninja, and a Shaman who's building for melee combat. Frankly, I'm worried. I'm worried that I might struggle to participate in combat, apart from slinging Evil Eyes around, and more importantly, I'm worried that we might get crushed utterly by something we weren't prepared for.
I'm an Elf, if it matters, and I'm taking full advantage of those racial scores. 18 DEX and 20 INT. Hex is Evil Eye, bonus feat is Extra Hex: Cauldron, since it seems like potions will be useful pretty much right away.
If I'm going Cauldron, it's pretty much a given that I should take CLW. I'd go for Infernal Healing, but the Paladin might not like that. But what else? I'm tempted to pick up things like Charm Person and Unseen Servant, but I only get three spells... wouldn't it be smart to pick up something to help out with combat?
Charm person can be helpful with combat if you choose wisely (and depending some on how your GM adjudicates it). But for general-purpose ill omen and Hermean potential are quite nice as well - they mimic two of the most popular hexes out there, Fortune and Misfortune, so they can open up using some of the more uncommon hexes if you like. My witch made good use of both of those in the early levels.
You get 3 spells plus intelligence bonus so that should make at least 6 spells.
With my level 1 Witch I started with Evil Eye and Cackle, and kept lowering the enemies AC to save spells.
Sleep will also be pretty useful at first levels, even if it gets outdated soon.
Mage armor will probably be useful, as Enlarge Person can benefit the Paladin too.
Obscuring mist can be a very good utility to avoid being targeted with ranged attacks. As all the party are melee, it can prove pretty useful.
Ill Omen will probably be useful at higher levels.
And for direct damage, Ear piercing scream is probably one of the best level one spells you could get.
I do plan on taking those hexes in time, and the spells will be _very_ nice, once they start bestowing multiple re-rolls, but right now I only have three spells in a day. If I spend them all on single-turn buffs and debuffs, I could blow through them all in one combat. It'd be better to use those precious slots on big things, like Colour Spray.... if I _had_ Colour Spray. <sigh>....
You get 3 spells plus intelligence bonus so that should make at least 6 spells.
Uhh..... it's 1 for being a 1st level Witch, then two more for having 20 INT. 6?? I should be so lucky. : P
EDIT: Ooooh, wait, you mean spells known! Wow, I get 8 of them? That's gonna help out a bit. Thanks for pointing that out!
Ah, I thought you talked about known spells. Not daily slots. My mistake.
Sleep can make a good replacement for Color Spray.
You get 3 spells plus intelligence bonus so that should make at least 6 spells.Uhh..... it's 1 for being a 1st level Witch, then two more for having 20 INT. 6?? I should be so lucky. : P
EDIT: Ooooh, wait, you mean spells known! Wow, I get 8 of them? That's gonna help out a bit. Thanks for pointing that out!
When I was level 1 I didn't know what to pick so I even picked some spells that I didn't plan to use until high levels because 8 spells were a lot.
I think you have good ideas on what to pick so you will probably not need a lot of help. (Oo I almost mispelled this as «a lot of hemp»!)
I will most certainly need a lot of hemp. XP
No but yeah, I think I got it, for the most part... I'll probably use a lot of my spells known getting Potion fodder, then use my actual spell slots on Sleep and Command so I have some panic buttons. My DEX is good enough that I can shoot a bow if I get bored of Evil Eyeing people, so it's not like I don't have combat options.
Thanks for the advice!
Ok, a little advice first on how to get the most out of your Witch
1) Your job is to screw over your enemy's options. You mess with them. Force them to make choices they don't want to make. First you debuff their saves, and then you hit them with spells that force them onto defense or to waste their actions. If you want to have fun as a witch, don't concentrate on killing your enemies. Instead, concentrate on messing with them. Your allies will make short work of them after that.
2) Set your allies up for victory. Pile on debuffs and let your pals rampage around taking out weakened enemies left and right. They'll love you for it.
Here's the best spells on the witch list-
1st:
Ill Omen (if you have anyone else able to sling a Save or Suck spell at an enemy on the round you cast this, it's almost a guaranteed success, especially combined with Evil Eye. Later, slap it in a wand and give it to your familiar. The one two punch of Ill Omen and Slumber or Charm is one of the best combos in the game)
Adhesive Spittle (never loses usefullness. It's DC scales with level, and it's an auto-hit. Entangled is a great debuff, and the potential to stick them to the floor is also awesome)
Mudball (ranged touch = blinded. So good)
2nd
Burning Gaze (this is mediocre against living targets, but unattended objects dont get a save. All kinds of fun to be had with that)
Glitterdust (Always a useful spell. Anti-invisibility with mass blindness. Heck yes.)
Ice Slick (minor area damage, plus Grease. Put it in choke points to shape the battlefield)
Limp Lash (Read the FAQ on this. It's relatively easy for an enemy to break out of, but in a dungeon, or anywhere that they can't easily get away from you, it's an encounter-ender. Combine this with Adhesive Spittle to ruin someone's day)
Lipstitch (It's a fort save that stops spellcasting. Mean.)
3rd
Accursed Glare (combine with a familiar using a wand of Ill Omen. If an enemy fails their save against this, they're screwed.)
Stinking Cloud (this spell ends encounters)
4th
Black Tentacles (This spell ends encounters)
Charm Monster (Combine this with a few castings of Sow Thought and it might as well be Dominate Monster)
In case it's not clear, it's not "spells known," it's "spells known by your familiar." Translated as: "spells in your spellbook." Witches are NOT spontaneous casters! So you'll be able to augment the spells you start with by buying or finding scrolls. Hopefully, your GM will be kind enough to occasionally let you encounter other witches, so your familiars can chat and exchange spells for free.
Because it's tough for me to play a prepared caster, I'm not going to try and make actual suggestions on spells.
I will tell you that Cauldron is a great choice for hexes, and very thematic. I've done two witches now, and they both wanted it right away. With one, I went with Misfortune aiming for Fortune & Cackle. With the other, Sleep & Fly. Both characters have worked very well. There is the part, however, about how you can only use Misfortune, Fortune, & Sleep once per day on someone, while Evil Eye interestingly doesn't have that little provision. So I can see why you like it.
And sure, you'll be able to make a contribution with a bow. I hope you don't get bored with buffs & debuffs, though -- it's what makes witches sing, in my opinion. You'll never run out of Evil Eyes, no matter how fast you zip through your spells. The hexes are wonderful.
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@ Doomed Hero: I am level 1 with 0 Experience. Why do people always have so much trouble talking to players with characters like that?
EDIT: @ Lily: Perhaps "bored" was a poor choice of words. More like "I feel it would be a foolish use of my turn," or more specifically "I'm unable to use it on anybody." Evil Eye has no effect on mindless creatures, for instance.
Well, hopefully, you won't encounter mindless creatures anytime real soon. I was trying to encourage you not to worry too much about your spells. Believe me, I've gone game days unable to use a single spell I'd prepared, and it didn't matter -- I had my hexes!
In that respect, I think I would emphasize spells I could cast before combat early on. You know Mage Armor will be useful.
Mage Armor wasn't very appealing at first, since I'm the only member of the party who will benefit from it.... but, when I'm around level 6 or 7 or 8, it's lasting basically all day, and hey, I can make potions of it for cheap. And really, I've pretty much got my bases covered with the first 7 known spells. May as well grab that for the last one.
In case it's not clear, it's not "spells known," it's "spells known by your familiar." Translated as: "spells in your spellbook." Witches are NOT spontaneous casters! So you'll be able to augment the spells you start with by buying or finding scrolls. Hopefully, your GM will be kind enough to occasionally let you encounter other witches, so your familiars can chat and exchange spells for free.
Because it's tough for me to play a prepared caster, I'm not going to try and make actual suggestions on spells.
{. . .}
Alternatively, Ley Line Guardian Witch is a spontaneous caster. Unfortunately, we don't have any really up-to-date full-sized Witch guides, but this sub-guide from Secret Wizard's Class Selection Guide will give you a start, and even has a build example for this archetype (as well as 3 other builds). Caution: The link from the main guide has not been updated to point to the sub-guide I linked (it still points to an outdated version, at least as of this posting).
I'm not interested in playing a spontaneous caster Witch. Especially if it would change my casting stat from INT to CHA.
Though I do wonder, can I still gain new spells from Scrolls the same way a Wizard could? Or for that matter, if I found or stole a Wizard's spellbook, could I learn spells from that?
.... I feel like there's rules on this. I should check before asking. : P
EDIT: Spellcraft lists "learn spells from a spellbook" as one use of the skill, but otherwise, information seems incredibly sparse.
It's not going to be covered in Core; this is a class from a later book. The Witch description covers it under Adding Spells to a Witch's Familiar. They specifically list scrolls; I believe they specifically ban a spellbook, but I can't remember precisely.
I'm not interested in playing a spontaneous caster Witch. Especially if it would change my casting stat from INT to CHA.
Though I do wonder, can I still gain new spells from Scrolls the same way a Wizard could? Or for that matter, if I found or stole a Wizard's spellbook, could I learn spells from that?
.... I feel like there's rules on this. I should check before asking. : P
EDIT: Spellcraft lists "learn spells from a spellbook" as one use of the skill, but otherwise, information seems incredibly sparse.
Most Witches can learn spells from Scrolls, although the style is different from what a Wizard does (instead of reading the Scroll, you perform a ritual in which you burn it and feed the ashes to your Familiar; it isn't explained how archetypes that replace the Familiar with a bonded object do the equivalent). Ley Line Guardian Witches learn spells like a Sorcerer (and by the way, get Sorcerer spells per day). Ley Line Guardian is still Intelligence-based -- with the regrettable Errata of a couple of years ago to the Scarred Witch Doctor, Paizo ruled that you can't have a Witch that can't spell.
You can only learn spells from scrolls by a special ritual to "feed" them to your familiar. We love eating scrolls!
But we cannot learn from spellbooks. My master commerciated with Wizards when she found a spellbook, trading spellbooks for scrolls.
You are an elf, so...
Dreamspeaker: A few elves have the ability to tap into the power of sleep, dreams, and prescient reverie. Elves with this racial trait add +1 to the saving throw DCs of spells of the divination school and sleep effects they cast. In addition, elves with Charisma scores of 15 or higher may use dream once per day as a spell-like ability (caster level is equal to the elf’s character level). This racial trait replaces elven immunities.
Be a master of sleep.
Lvl 1 Spell of choice: Sleep
DC: 10 + spell level (1) + Int (5) + Racial (1) = 17
That's a really high DC at lvl1. Unless you are hitting dwarf clerics with it, foes will fall asleep.
Later add the slumber hex and you are good to go.