Evil eye only works on hexes in progress so the witch would have to be within 30' of the target then if they use Evil Eye and the target makes their save the duration is reduced to 1, then cackle can be used to extend the duration to 2 rounds.
B. Monster makes save reducing to one round, so at start of witches next round hex is over. If the witch cackles it is increased to 2 rounds, so even with a passed save the hex can stay up indefinitely if the witch can cackle each round.
It's kinda B, but kinda not.
B) witch uses her hex the monster passes it's save, and the hex duration is reduced and cackle giving the hex +1, to a net of 2 rounds
The bolded part was cut and pasted so that it's in the correct sequence.
The save has nothing to do with the cackle, so the save would happen before cackle has any effect. After the monster has saved (or not) the witch cackles and increases the duration of any affected hexes by one round.
In this case, the witch's turn would go:
Standard Action - Evil Eye hex
Move Action - Cackle.
If the witch cackled before using the evil eye, there would be nothing for cackle to increase.
If the enemy saves, and the witch doesn't use cackle the same round as Evil eye, then the Evil eye would run out just before the witch's next turn. This means even if she cackled as the first action of the next turn the evil eye would already have worn off.
Does that clear it up?
Evil eyeCackle only works on hexes in progress so the witch would have to be within 30' of the target then if they use Evil Eye and the target makes their save the duration is reduced to 1, then cackle can be used to extend the duration to 2 rounds.
Fixed.
I feel like the OP thinks cackle is a passive ability that increases the hex durations by 1 each rather than an activated that can make a 1 round hex last forever
What vhok means here is that if a witch continues to use Cackle round-after-round the hexes affected will continue round-after-round.
Cackle doesn't say it can only be used once per hex, or only affects hexes for one round, so as long as you continue to spend a move action to cackle your hexes will last forever. Also since it affects multiple hexes, you can keep them all going forever.
Let's assume our witch has used Evil-Eye, the enemy saved, but the witch Cackled and the duration was increased to 2 rounds.
Next round (round 2), the duration of Evil-Eye drops to 1 round. The Witch uses a standard action to hex the same enemy using the Misfortune Hex. Because the Witch is 8th level (just go with it) the duration of this hex is 2 rounds. As a move action, the Witch Cackles again. The duration of Evil-Eye increases to 2 rounds (again) and the duration of Misfortune increases to 3 rounds.
The next round begins (round 3) and the duration of Evil-Eye drops back down to 1 round, and the duration of Misfortune drops to 2 rounds. The witch decides to move closer to the enemy and cast a spell. Because the witch has used a move and standard action she can't cackle this round.
The next round begins (round 4) and the duration of Evil-Eye drops down to 0 rounds (it is no longer in effect), and the duration of Misfortune drops to 1 round. The witch uses a move action to Cackle, increasing the duration of Misfortune to 2 rounds. Then the Witch uses a standard action to cast another spell.
The next round begins (round 5) and the duration of Misfortune drops to 1 round..... etc etc etc
Sorry if I'm stating the obvious, but it's better to be clear.
I am pretty sure they ruled out the cackle twice a round to super extend hexes.
Also, you can stack your evil eye to itself if it gives a different effect. So you can have a penalty to AC, saves, and more all at the same time.
As a penalty, evil eyes from multiple witches do stack. But your cackle only affects your hexes.
/cevah
Twice a round was FAQ'd away, but a witch can still cackle once per round to keep a hex going and use her standard action for something else.