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Hello,
I saw the Veneficus Witch archetype from "People of the River", and thought it was interesting. There has been yet no guide for this class, and so I put together my thoughts on it, as well as thoughts on optimizing poison use in general. This is mostly to help me understand/optimize, however I thought others would appreciate some ideas on the archetype.
All thoughts, suggestions, and ideas are appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to lend me your advice. :)
I've attached the guide here:
Veneficus Guide First Draft
Adding to the Necro: The problem with going for Eldritch Knight or Arcane Trickster is that your Hexes won't scale, which is especially brutal when using them with the DC attenuation from Toxic Words (which also won't scale).
Liked the guide. Would like to discuss if anyone is listening out there.
first time i see this guide.
right off the bat i'd have to object to something the op stated on the 1st page:
"Just note that poisons have the same weakness as hexes, in that they’re ineffective against the same monster types (undead, constructs, etc.)"
leaving alone utility and all purpose hexs that would effect any creature about the same, or only the witch (say the flight, healing, hair or claw hex etc). the hex's that work as their name aka 'curses' are not ineffective against undead and construct from the mere fact that they are not immune to curses. unlike a marid of other immunities that they do have.:
construct:
Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms).
Immunity to bleed, disease, death effects, necromancy effects, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning....
..Not subject to ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, energy drain, or nonlethal damage.
Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless).
Not at risk of death from massive damage. Immediately destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points or less...
etc"
so unless the curse call for a fort roll (that is set on creatures and can't effect objects) constructs can very much be effected by it.
about the same goes for undead:
"
Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms).
Immunity to bleed, death effects, disease, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning.
Not subject to nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Constitution, Dexterity, and Strength), as well as to exhaustion and fatigue effects.
...
Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
"
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another thing i object is putting the familiar poison on lowly yellow saying :
"Familiar Venom – Now you’re getting warmer! Free, replenishing resources are your friend. The good news is that it’s free. The bad news is that familiar venom is weak, and the ability DC’s don’t scale. This option is a back-up that you can use when you run out of the good stuff "
which is just plain wrong. familiar poison like any other familiar ability that is based on hd (in this case mostly it's 10+hd/2+ ability bonus). uses the Masters's hd which does scale.
from familiar:
"Hit Dice: For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher."
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on a side note i'll add that the hexs of Gift of Consumption and it's greater version (which is a normal hex so one can be taken after the other, even before level 10+) can work alongside this archtype pretty well. (more so if the character relay on making\finding his own poisons and has a variety of options).
Gift of Consumption (Su) (Potions and Poisons pg. 10): The witch curses a creature to share any effects that target her vitality. Whenever the witch is exposed to an effect that requires her to attempt a Fortitude save, as an immediate action she can curse a creature within 30 feet to share the effect. The hexed creature must also attempt a Fortitude save at the same DC as the witch’s, and on a failure it is subject to the same effects as the witch. Regardless of the outcome of the saving throw, the creature can’t be targeted by this hex again for 1 day. This hex does not function with effects that require additional types of saves, such as phantasmal killer.
Greater Gift of Consumption (Su) (Potions and Poisons pg. 10): The witch can more effectively redirect effects to her proxy chosen by the gift of consumption hex. When the witch succeeds at her Fortitude save against an effect that she has redirected to a proxy, the hexed creature takes a –4 penalty on its Fortitude save against the redirected effect. If the witch ever fails a Fortitude save or intentionally exposes herself to an effect that requires a Fortitude save, such as by ingesting a poison, she can redirect that effect to affect only the hexed creature, though the hexed creature can still attempt a saving throw to resist the effects. Once she has redirected an effect to another creature in this way, that creature cannot be affected by the gift of consumption hex again for 24 hours. The witch must have the gift of consumption hex to select this hex.