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The Familiar witch feature (p.36) states:
Your familiar can also learn new spells independently of your patron. It can learn any spell on your tradition’s spell list by physically consuming a scroll of that spell in a process that takes 1 hour. You can use the Learn a Spell exploration activity to prepare a special written version of a spell, which your familiar can then consume as if it were a scroll.
Am I right to understand that this means Witches learn spells in a fixed time without any skill checks, but can never benefit from skill feats such as Magical Shorthand?
And if that is so, how does the second part of the text play out? Is this in regards to spells encountered in non-scroll form (such as from a borrowed spellbook)?As a Necromancer I have recently taken Magical Shorthand to gain the ability to learn spells mid-adventure, and while it's not a common occurrence, it will also allow me to learn large amounts of spells at higher levels. Having a fixed 1-hour time restricts spell gain to downtime and limits the amount of new spells that can be gained in one day.
Think, if you will, about a wizard visiting town after a long adventuring arc before heading back out. In one evening, with Magical Shorthand, she could learn a couple dozen low level spells, easy. A Witch would be limited with a handful. The economy and finance of the game encourages this kind of "collection" behaviour among spellbook casters, but the mechanic seems to hinder it.
I believe the feat should be something Witch can benefit from.
Designer
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That second part is indeed referring to a borrowed spellbook (since it's quite rude to feed others' spellbooks to your pet), but that sure is something we can clarify in the final version.
As for feats like Magical Shorthand, bear in mind that there's a whole book surrounding these classes, and there will be plenty of room for general feats (and even more class feats) that will expand their play options.
I work with what I have :) But it's nice to know there's more to it. Thank you.