How many different ways are there to qualify for joining a coven?

[Alzrius]

So I'm looking at designing a larger-than-usual coven via the grand coven occult ritual. I'd like to make it as diverse as possible, rather than being composed of just hags and witches (whether single-classed, multiclassed, or variant multiclassed) with the coven hex. As such, I'm looking for all the various rules and exploits that allow characters to join a coven. Here's what I've come up with so far:

1) Be a changeling and take the Coven-Touched feat.

2) Be a sorcerer with the accursed bloodline (the bloodline arcana lets you join a coven, which also lets this work if you take this bloodline for a creature with the sorcerer class template, or alternatively works nicely with the crossblooded archetype).

3) Be a sylvan trickster rogue, and select the coven hex.

4) Acquire a shawl of the crone.

5) Worship Mestama, take the Fiendish Obedience feat (I'm not sure if Deific Obedience would count), and then take Diverse Obedience and (once you qualify) choose either the second sentinel or second evangelist boon. Alternatively, take levels in the demoniac prestige class (if Deific Obedience can qualify for Mestama, then you could alternatively take either the sentinel or the exalted prestige classes instead) and choose either of the aforementioned boons.

6) Be a bloodrager with the hag bloodline (though this won't kick in until 16th level, but still works nicely with the crossblooded archetype).

7) Take the hag's calling special patron. This is as per a witch patron, so a pact wizard should be able to take it.

8) Be a cleric with the triadic priest archetype.

That's what I've come up with so far. But what other ways are there to qualify? For that matter, what exploits are there that I'm not seeing? Is there another archetype that gains access to a witch patron, allowing you to take the hag's calling patron? Is there some way to count as a different race so you can take the Coven-Touched feat? Or some other archetype that lets you take a hex, and so can take the coven hex? What are the most unusual combos you can find?

[Alzrius]

Quote:

Is there some way to count as a different race so you can take the Coven-Touched feat?

So here's one for this: the Racial Heritage feat would let a human count as a changeling for taking the Coven-Touched feat.

Alternatively, an aasimar with the Scion of Humanity alternate racial trait could also take Racial Heritage, and thus the Coven-Touched feat, as well. Presumably a tiefling with the Pass for Human alternate racial trait could do the same.

[Coidzor]

There's the Stargazer prestige class which allows the character to take a Witch hex.

[SorrySleeping]

The Arcanist can grab a bloodline arcana I believe and his level qualify as full bloodline progress if he already has one.

So a 1 level dip of something with bloodline then Arcanist.

[Lady Asharah]

Hexblade Magus can take Coven Hex

[avr]

Hardly unusual but shamans can take a witch hex.

[UnArcaneElection]

Lady Asharah wrote:

Hexblade Magus can take Coven Hex

You mean Hexcrafter? (Hexblade comes from D&D 3.5 if I recall correctly, and then I think they also had a Duskblade to confuse us even more.)

[deuxhero]

Hexblade is a 3.5 class that, being from the same book that gave us the awful Samurai class, is only useful as a dip or prestige class entry. Duskblade is a much later class that did what Hexblade was trying to do but competently. Hexblade is also a 5E Warlock subclass.

Anyways
Iron Collar of the Unbound Coven is another item that lets one form covens.

[Lady Asharah]

Yeah that, Hexcrafter. It's a hex something. Only magus that can do hexes.

[Latrans]

deuxhero wrote:

Hexblade is a 3.5 class that, being from the same book that gave us the awful Samurai class, is only useful as a dip or prestige class entry. Duskblade is a much later class that did what Hexblade was trying to do but competently. Hexblade is also a 5E Warlock subclass.

Anyways
Iron Collar of the Unbound Coven is another item that lets one form covens.

A Iron Collar of the Unbound Coven still requires the wearer be a witch with the coven hex. It's just one of the few bypasses that allows a coven that doesn't require an actual hag that most of these methods still require. If there is already a real hag for the coven, it's unnecessary.

[VoodistMonk]

Besides fluff, flavor, and fun factor... what is so special about a Coven?

In the case of actual Hags, forming a Coven gives them access to new magic abilities. This offers the obvious advantage of providing lowly Hags access to neat magics that they would otherwise never have access to individually. But it doesn't seem to offer much to higher level Hags that already have their own magics.

The Coven Hex allows the increase of your Caster Level for one round, which seems really anticlimactic for the amount of work required to pull it off. I am not much of a spellcaster, so I may be failing to see the benefits of this. A situational plus one just doesn't seem like enough of a reason to grab the Coven Hex... it's essentially a Teamwork Feat that still requires that you use your action economy to Aid Another...

Maybe that +1 CL helps with a Necromancer Animate/Control Undead HD bucket limits, or when you can have everyone pitch in to make one save or die spell/Hex be super effective for one round.

I love the idea of a Coven of all sorts of non-Hags, almost like a cult of wannabe Hags. Even a cult of people who worship or otherwise follow a real Hag is still a lot of fun.

I don't see any real mechanical benefits of the Coven, but I appreciate the compilation of ways into a Coven... I am sure I will use this at some point.

[deuxhero]

Read the rules for covens. They give a bunch of SLAs that can be cast an unlimited number of times, some of which normally have expensive components. With an Iron Collar of the Unbound Coven or other way of bypassing the need for a hag, you can get some really crazy stuff like 3 standard action Control Weather, free Animate Dead.

[avr]

Coven +1 CLs stack. Some of the most extreme theorycrafting involves seeing how many aiding friends you can pack into a 30' radius sphere or whatever it is.

[VoodistMonk]

avr wrote:

Coven +1 CLs stack. Some of the most extreme theorycrafting involves seeing how many aiding friends you can pack into a 30' radius sphere or whatever it is.

This cheese is probably some of the smelliest cheese of them all... I can't even imagine the munchkin madness BS that can be accomplished.

[Cevah]

Max coven boost I calculate is +514,000 CL. See this post for details.

Less cheesy is getting up to 32 CL. Animate Objects at 32 CL gets you a Colossal object. Still need a wizard to cast the Permanency.

/cevah

[willuwontu]

Misses using gate spells to open 5ft portals that give you bubbles of more space.