Patron Themes
Source Player Core pg. 183 2.0
When your patron first makes contact, they usually reveal little more of themself than glimpses or specific manifestations—you might see eyes from the shadows of the forest or hear a wordless voice echoing across the frozen tundra before your familiar makes itself known. Your patron's true identity might be a powerful hag, a fey lord, a deity or demigod, an archdevil, or a similarly powerful entity, or perhaps multiple such figures working in tandem, but that identity is for you to attempt to discover as you learn more of your patron's lessons. Some patrons are multifaceted, appearing in different guises, and granting different powers to different witches. In some cases, the witch may know of their patron's identity, but have some other aspect shrouded in uncertainty; they might know their patron's name but not motive, or perhaps even if they know the patron's identity, they have been cursed to never reveal it to others.
Your patron determines the following.
Spell List You use this magical tradition and spell list;
Patron Skill You become trained in the skill associated with your patron's magical tradition.
Initial Lesson This is the first lesson your patron teaches you and is unique to your patron.
Familiar Ability One of your familiar's two bonus abilities is always the one listed here, a mark of your patron's indelible influence. The benefit can occur only once per round when you Cast or Sustain a hex, and you can choose whether it occurs before or after the effects of Casting or Sustaining the hex.
Baba YagaLegacy Content
Rare Source Legends pg. 32PFS Note If a witch's patron is Baba Yaga, their familiar gains the
Familiar of Freezing Rime ability
Baba Yaga teaches you how to transfer spirits into objects and freeze your foes. A witch with Baba Yaga as their patron can choose an inanimate object as a familiar. If they do, they still can gain master abilities and some familiar abilities that don’t require movement. The object familiar has no Speeds and must select a Speed familiar ability before it can move, coming to life in a way appropriate to the chosen Speed and using the statistics of a normal familiar for that day.
Spell List occultPatron Skill OccultismHex Cantrip spirit objectGranted Spell chilling spraySource Howl of the Wild pg. 61 2.0Your patron appeared at the end or near the end of a life, flickering in feverish visions or glinting mysteriously in the eyes of waiting scavengers. Although horrifying to many, decay creates the resources needed for new life. This fate awaits you and possibly even your patron, whether they’re a towering arboreal, a subterranean fungus creature, or one of the psychopomps that shepherds the entire process along.
Spell List primalPatron Skill NatureLesson of the Hungry Scavenger Your patron teaches ways to convert death into new life. You gain the
scrounger's glee hex cantrip, and your familiar learns
enfeeble.
Familiar of Parasitic Might Your familiar appears gaunt and malnourished or otherwise on the brink of death, even though it's quite healthy. When you Cast or Sustain a hex, your familiar can draw on the waning strength of another to sustain itself. One creature within 15 feet of your familiar with less than half of its maximum Hit Points becomes
sickened 1 unless it succeeds at a Fortitude saving throw against your spell DC.
Source Player Core pg. 184 2.0Your patron contacted you in a moment your willpower was close to sputtering out. Their reassuring presence was like breath and kindling bringing an ember back aflame, their magic giving you the strength to carry on and bring others to your cause. Your patron is likely a divine being like an angel or aeon acting covertly, though the possibility exists they might be a more sinister entity, using you to unknown ends.
Spell List divinePatron Skill ReligionLesson of Fervor's Grasp Your patron has taught you that nothing can seize the heart like faith, whether used to inspire or direct. You gain the
stoke the heart hex cantrip and your familiar learns
command.
Familiar of Restored Spirit Your familiar is pleasantly warm and soft, seeming to wash away worries with its mere presence. When you Cast or Sustain a hex, one willing creature within 15 feet of your familiar gains temporary Hit Points equal to 2 + half your level, which last until the start of your next turn.
Legacy Content
Rare Source Monsters of Myth pg. 75PFS Note If a witch's patron is the Mosquito Witch, their familiar gains the Familiar of
Ongoing Misery ability
Few in Shimmerford or elsewhere would be foolish enough to attempt to draw the Mosquito Witch's attention, but whether you're one of those foolish few or simply someone who attracted the Mosquito Witch's attention unwittingly or unwillingly, she grants you powers over insects and other arthropods.
Spell List primalPatron Skill NatureHex Cantrip buzzing bitesGranted Spell pest formLegacy Content
Rare Source Dark Archive pg. 159Your patron deals only in promises and bargains, and no lesson is ever given for free.
Spell List occultPatron Skill OccultismHex Cantrip pact brokerGranted Spell commandSource Howl of the Wild pg. 61 2.0When your patron appeared, it was as an unfathomably large shadow beneath the waves, possibly as an ancient denizen of the vast waters like a kraken. Whether channeling the lethal terror of an oceanic predator or singing the ancestral wisdom of its gentle giants, your leviathan patron brings you lessons from the unplumbed depths of the world.
Spell List primalPatron Skill NatureLesson of Surface and Seas Your patron teaches of the dangers and wonders of its domain, even at the very edges of the water. You gain the
sting of the sea hex cantrip, and your familiar learns
dizzying colors or
grease.
Familiar of Overwhelming Tides Your familiar constantly drips with ocean water. When you Cast or Sustain a hex, you can cause a small wave to surge forth from your familiar. One creature within 10 feet of your familiar is
pushed 5 feet away from your familiar.
Source Player Core pg. 185 2.0Bitter cold heralded your patron's appearance, in the depths of the winter solstice or on a frozen peak at the end of the world. Your patron might be a winter hag, ice yai, or other spirit of the cold, but one thing is clear as ice—their power is not to be underestimated.
Spell List primalPatron Skill NatureLesson of Winter's Chill Your patron taught you the power of winter firsthand by subjecting you to frost and snow. You learn the
clinging ice hex cantrip and your familiar learns
gust of wind.
Familiar of Freezing Rime Your familiar is cold to the touch, its breath always visible. When you Cast or Sustain a hex, you can cause ice to form in a 5-foot burst centered on a square of your familiar's space. Those squares are
difficult terrain until the start of your next turn.
Source Player Core pg. 185 2.0You met your patron in a memory of an encounter yet to come or a premonition of something long since passed, as they untangled and re-spun the tapestry of time and fate. Was your patron a norn? A herald of a deity like Pharasma, Alseta, or Grandmother Spider? Could it even be a single individual appearing at three or more points in its timeline—multiple versions of the same being, parallel threads converging on a single moment?
Spell List occultPatron Skill OccultismLesson of Fate's Vicissitudes Your patron's harsh lesson is that fate spares no one, rising and falling in turn for all. You gain the
nudge fate hex cantrip and your familiar learns
sure strike.
Familiar of Balanced Luck Your familiar has a spot on its body that looks like a good luck charm or a bad omen, depending on the angle. When you Cast or Sustain a hex, one creature within 15 feet of your familiar gets your choice of either a +1 status bonus to its AC or a –1 status penalty to its AC until the start of your next turn.
Source Player Core pg. 185 2.0Your patron first contacted you at the witching hour, as your body lay paralyzed by sleep while your mind had yet to escape the waking world. Your patron might be a creature of the Netherworld or a long-forgotten spirit of twilight—all you remember of them are haunting eyes of moonlight, offering you power from the darkness.
Spell List occultPatron Skill OccultismLesson of Night's Terrors Your patron taught you that the darkness can hide all manner of things best left unseen. You gain the
shroud of night hex cantrip, and your familiar learns
fear.
Familiar of Stalking Night Your familiar is dark of fur or feather, and light seems to disappear into it. When you Cast or Sustain a hex, and your familiar is adjacent to an enemy to which it's concealed, hidden, or undetected, the enemy becomes
frightened 1.
Source Player Core pg. 184 2.0No words passed your patron's lips in the moment you met; instead, words and glyphs danced across their skin while symbols and numbers swam in the depths of their eyes, spelling out their will in a torrent of words and wisdom. Your patron might be a powerful archmage, or even one of their abandoned artifacts, searching for a successor.
Spell List arcanePatron Skill ArcanaLesson of Glyph's Supremacy Your patron teaches that the written word can accomplish so much more than it seems. You gain the
discern secrets hex and your familiar learns
runic weapon.
Familiar of Flowing Script Your familiar is covered in a pattern that looks similar to letters in an unknown language, one that seems to draw attention even as it eludes understanding. When you Cast or Sustain a hex, the letters begin to rapidly change, causing a distraction. Until the start of your next turn, your familiar can provide flanking for you and your allies as though it were able to attack and had a reach of 5 feet; this is a visual effect.
Source Player Core pg. 184 2.0A single feeling radiated from your patron in the moment you met them, as palpable as heat from a fire: the desire to see every tall poppy felled and every proud nail hammered down, whether to righteously bring justice for small folk or the base urge to see the powerful defeated. Your patron is likely far from the upper echelons of its kind, such as a hag ousted from its coven or a quasi-divinity or a lower-rank demon. This leaves it only subtler and weaker tools to see its ends met: curses, hexes, and you.
Spell List occultPatron Skill OccultismLesson of Strength's Impermanence Your patron has taught you that power can be taken much more easily that it can be built. You gain the
evil eye hex cantrip and your familiar learns
enfeeble.
Familiar of Ongoing Misery Your familiar seems hostile to all creatures other than you, hissing at them if they get too near. When you Cast or Sustain a hex, your familiar can curse a creature within 15 feet of it, prolonging the duration of any negative conditions affecting it by 1 round. This is a curse effect. This prolongs only conditions with a timed duration (such as “1 round” or “until the end of your next turn”) and doesn't prevent conditions from being removed by other means.
Source Howl of the Wild pg. 62 2.0Wings and swirling winds announced the approach of your patron. The wings might have been radiantly feathered, jeweled like a dragonfly’s, strangely mechanical, or leathery with the scent of sulfur, but the controlled chaos of their movements contained countless teachings.
Spell List primalPatron Skill NatureLesson of the Observed Sky Your patron teaches that the sky can guide you anywhere you let it. You gain the
murmuration hex cantrip, and your familiar learns
gentle landing.
Familiar of Nimble Flight Even if your familiar doesn't have wings, it can sometimes move as if carried aloft by the wind. When you Cast or Sustain a hex, your familiar can
Fly up to 15 feet; this movement doesn't trigger reactions.
Source Player Core pg. 185 2.0When your patron appeared before you, they moved with the grace and ferocity of the wilderness, their voice the creaking of trees and the sound of hoof against unspoiled earth. They might have been a dryad queen or a primeval beast, but it seemed all of nature was theirs to defend.
Spell List primalPatron Skill NatureLesson of Wild Speech Your patron has taught you the complexities of nonverbal speech, letting you influence and call animals and plants to you. You gain the
wilding word hex cantrip and your familiar learns your choice of
summon animal or
summon plant or fungusFamiliar of Keen Senses Your familiar has glinting eyes, twitching ears, or some other sign of a beast's powerful senses. When you Cast or Sustain a hex, your familiar gains your choice of an imprecise scent, tremorsense, or wavesense, with a range of 60 feet until the start of your next turn, and it can immediately Point Out as a free action.