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So I figure, witches are coming in the advanced player's guide playtest in a few months, so they're probably at least a little bit on your minds right now. Also, pf2 just landed and there's a whole lot of new systems that seem a heck of a lot more streamlined. So right now is probably the best time to just group-craft this into a working concept that is playable without being too powerful.
Simple concept is this: You have a group of witches with some spellcasting whose primary spellcasting source appears to be a weapon that they are wielding, oftentimes a longspear. These witches have less spells per day than a wizard, and their spells are less flashy, but they have an aura about themselves that inhibits the abilities of everyone around them.
For some of these witches, the aura affects them too, and is more powerful. Others aren't affected by their own aura but its effects are diminished.
The weapons they wield are in tune somewhat with some sort of powerful entity off "somewhere else", and it's not clear whether the weapon they wield is holding back that entity, or if it's an actual shard of that entity. Importantly, the witches themselves don't know if destroying their own weapons would be a good or bad thing for anyone.
Since PF2 allows for retraining, in the case of these witches might take the form of swapping out their weapon for another one, and that would coincide with altering the aura, their spell lists, and any other class features.
And while the concept of the character was originally a group of all women casters that formed the initial covens, cults, and charters, enough time has passed that no implied gender or sex restriction need apply.
Each of the witch's weapons would look like some sort of shard of magical crystal, but would have the same stats as a regular weapon. If destroyed, the energy would not be released immediately, there would be plenty of time to attempt to repair it before something disastrous occurred. Think days, not minutes or hours.
the aura would be in tune with an ability score (yay for no longer losing access to class abilities if those go too low now ...right?) and would take one of a few forms:
1) the aura affects others only, not the witch, and gives -4 to a stat.
2) the aura affects the witch for -2 to said stat, -6 to others.
3) the aura is more powerful near the witch but doesn't affect her, -6 close range, -2 long range.
4) the aura is more powerful the farther away it gets to a maximum, inverted as option 3, but it affects the witch with -2 to that ability score.
all subject to change, since these are very powerful debilitating effects.
although the weapon could be seen as the source of the aura, it is always centered on the witch because it's in tune with her, and the weapon acts as a sort of anchor.
I'm torn on a lot of things in this concept as is, especially the aura and how powerful it is, it's way too powerful for previous versions of d&d/pf, obviously, and some ability scores are always going to be more powerful than others, but this new version seems a lot more balanced and looks like it would work well with it.
Wait for the Witch playtest to come out this October, then homebrew an archetype based on the Warpriest Cleric Doctrine. For simplicity's sake I'll use the term Hexblade in this post.
Assuming that the normal Witch will be a prepared occult caster, I predict that their proficiency progresses at a similar rate to other casters like Bards, Cloistered Clerics, Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards. They will likely gain the following:
Level 1: A subclass feat that grants extra spells, either slot or focus. This is very likely the Witch Patron. In addition: Trained in unarmed strikes, simple weapons, and whatever other weapons that might make sense; Trained in unarmed defense if the Witch has 6 HP/level, and Trained in unarmed defense and light armor if the Witch has 8 HP/level
Level 3: Expert in Fortitude or Reflex save if the Witch has 8 HP/level
Level 5: Expert in Fortitude or Reflex save if the Witch has 6 HP/level
Level 7: Expert in Occult Spellcasting
Level 11: Expert in weapons that are Trained at level 1
Level 15: Master in Occult Spellcasting
Level 19: Legendary in Occult Spellcasting
Following what Warpriest gets instead of Cloistered Cleric, you can do the following:
Level 1: The Hexblade does not get a Patron. Instead she gains the Trained proficiency in light and medium armor, and the Bonded Weapon class feature. A Hexblade's Bonded Weapon can be any simple or martial weapon. If the Hexblade bonds with a simple weapon, she increases its damage dice by one step. If she bonds with a martial weapon, she instead gains the Trained proficiency in that weapon. If the vanilla Witch becomes Expert in Fortitude or Reflex saves at level 3, the Hexblade gets it at level 1.
Level 3: If the vanilla Witch becomes Expert in Fortitude or Reflex save at level 3, the Hexblade becomes Trained in all martial weapons instead. Otherwise, she becomes Expert in Fortitude or Reflex saves
Level 5: If the vanilla witch becomes Expert in Fortitude or Reflex save at level 5, the Hexblade becomes Trained in all martial weapons instead. Otherwise, there's no ability to replace at level 5
Level 7: Expert proficiency with the Bonded Weapon, plus Critical Specialization for that weapon using Occult Spellcasting DC
Level 11: Expert in Occult Spellcasting
Level 15: Master in Fortitude or Reflex save
Level 19: Master in Occult Spellcasting
Auras should just be homebrew hexes unique to the Hexblade archetype, and you can figure out how they work when we have concrete rules on hexes.
Also, if the Witch is a 6HP class rather than an 8HP class (very likely if they're based on 1e Witch), then the Hexblade archetype should have a feat called Hexblade Resiliency, which grants 3 additional HP for each Hexblade archetype feat the character takes.
The auras reminds me a lot of the 3.5 Ardent from complete psionics