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Witch
Legacy Content
Source Advanced Player's Guide pg. 94 2.0You command powerful magic, not through study or devotion to any ideal, but as a vessel or agent for a mysterious, otherworldly patron that even you don't entirely understand. This entity might be a covert divinity, a powerful fey, a manifestation of natural energies, an ancient spirit, or any other mighty supernatural being—but its nature is likely as much a mystery to you as it is to anyone else. Through a special familiar, your patron grants you versatile spells and powerful hexes to use as you see fit, though you're never certain if these gifts will end up serving your patron's larger plan.Key Ability: INTELLIGENCEAt 1st level, your class gives you an ability boost to Intelligence.
Hit Points: 6 plus your Constitution modifierYou increase your maximum number of HP by this number at 1st level and every level thereafter.
Roleplaying the Witch
During Combat Encounters...
You cast spells to change the course of battle. You use magical hexes to hamper enemies and aid allies, while leveraging more powerful spells to control the battlefield, heal, or harm, aided by your extraordinary familiar, brewed potions, and magical items.
During Social Encounters...
You provide knowledge on numerous topics, including a variety of magical matters, and you might call upon your patron's magic to charm or deceive others.
While Exploring...
You remain alert for magical traps and treasures, employing a clever array of spells to overcome obstacles that stand in your way. Your familiar might aid you through its own considerable set of exceptional abilities.
In Downtime...
You brew potions, craft other magical items, or hunt for new spells for your familiar to learn. You might try to learn more about your patron, their aims, or your own powers, and you might seek out the company of other witches for collaboration or community.
You Might...
- Strive to learn more about your patron or familiar, your patron's goals, why they chose to empower you, and how you fit into their plans.
- Seek out new sources of magic, like scrolls and spellbooks, to supplement the spells your patron provides.
- View your familiar as a steadfast ally, a dear friend, or a necessary nuisance, depending on its personality.
Others Probably...
- Wonder about the nature of your patron and the source of your magic, worrying you'll turn on them or that you unknowingly serve to a foul power.
- Appreciate your ability to aid them with magic, whether you do so by helping them directly or by hampering their adversaries.
- Take care not to offend you, fearful that you'll place a malicious hex on them if you're angered.
Initial Proficiencies
At 1st level, you gain the listed proficiency ranks in the following statistics. You are untrained in anything not listed unless you gain a better proficiency rank in some other way.
Perception
Trained in Perception
Saving Throws
Trained in Fortitude
Trained in Reflex
Expert in Will
Skills
Trained in one skill determined by your patron
Trained in a number of additional skills equal to 3 plus your Intelligence modifier
Attacks
Trained in simple weapons
Trained in unarmed attacks
Defenses
Untrained in all armor
Trained in unarmored defense
Spells
Trained in spell attack rolls of your spellcasting tradition, determined by your patron
Trained in spell DCs of your spellcasting tradition, determined by your patron
Class Features
You gain these features as a Witch. Abilities gained at higher levels list the levels at which you gain them next to the features' names.
| Your Level | Class Features |
| 1 | Ancestry and background, initial proficiencies, patron, familiar, witch spellcasting, hexes |
| 2 | Skill feat, witch feat |
| 3 | 2nd-level spells, general feat, skill increase |
| 4 | Skill feat, witch feat |
| 5 | 3rd-level spells, ability boosts, ancestry feat, magical fortitude, skill increase |
| 6 | Familiar ability, skill feat, witch feat |
| 7 | 4th-level spells, expert spellcaster, general feat, skill increase |
| 8 | Skill feat, witch feat |
| 9 | 5th-level spells, ancestry feat, lightning reflexes, skill increase |
| 10 | Ability boosts, skill feat, witch feat |
| 11 | 6th-level spells, alertness, general feat, skill increase, weapon expertise |
| 12 | Familiar ability, skill feat, witch feat |
| 13 | 7th-level spells, ancestry feat, defensive robes, skill increase, weapon specialization |
| 14 | Skill feat, witch feat |
| 15 | 8th-level spells, ability boosts, general feat, master spellcaster, skill increase |
| 16 | Skill feat, witch feat |
| 17 | 9th-level spells, ancestry feat, resolve, skill increase |
| 18 | Familiar ability, skill feat, witch feat |
| 19 | General feat, legendary spellcaster, patron’s gift, skill increase |
| 20 | Ability boosts, skill feat, witch feat |
| Your Level | Cantrips | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
| 1 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 12 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| 13 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 14 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 15 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — |
| 16 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | — |
| 17 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 18 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — |
| 19 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1* |
| 20 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1* |
| * The patron conduit class feature gives you a 10th-level spell slot that works a bit differently from other spell slots. |
Ancestry and Background
In addition to the class features you gain at 1st level, you have the benefits of your selected ancestry and background.
Initial Proficiencies
At 1st level, you gain a number of proficiencies that represent your basic training, noted at the start of this class.
Patron
You weren't born with the power to cast spells, nor have you spent years in devotion to tomes, deities, or mystical secrets. Your power comes through a potent being that has chosen you as their vessel to carry forth some agenda in the world. This entity is typically mysterious and distant, revealing little of their identity and motivations, and they grant you spells and other magical powers through a familiar, which serves as a conduit for their power.
A patron might be a deity or demigod, a coven of powerful hags, a fey lord, an archdevil, or a similarly powerful entity, or perhaps multiple such figures working in tandem. As you gain more of your patron's power, you might learn more about who or what they are—certain combinations of themes and lessons suggest particular patrons or agendas—but patrons empower witches for their own secretive reasons, which they rarely reveal in full.
At 1st level, choose your patron's theme, which determines your spellcasting tradition, a skill, a special cantrip you gain, and a spell added to your familiar. The patron themes can be found
here.
Familiar
Your patron has sent you a familiar, a mystical creature that teaches you and facilitates your spells. This familiar follows the rules
here, though as it's a direct conduit between you and your patron, it's more powerful than other familiars. Your familiar gains an extra familiar ability, and gains another extra ability at 6th, 12th, and 18th levels.
Your familiar is the source and repository of the spells your patron has bestowed upon you, and you must commune with your familiar to prepare your spells each day using your witch spellcasting. Your familiar starts off knowing 10 cantrips, five 1st-level spells, and one additional spell determined by your patron's theme. You choose these spells from the common spells of the tradition determined by your patron or from other spells of that tradition you gain access to.
Each time you gain a level, your patron teaches your familiar two new spells of any level you can cast, chosen from common spells of your tradition or others you gain access to. Feats can also grant your familiar additional spells.
Your familiar can 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 consume as if it were a scroll. You and your familiar can use the Learn a Spell activity to teach your familiar a spell from another witch's familiar. Both familiars must be present for the entirety of the activity, the spell must be on your spellcasting tradition's spell list, and you must pay the usual cost for that activity, typically in the form of an offering to the other familiar's patron. You can't prepare spells from another witch's familiar.
If your familiar dies, your patron replaces it during your next daily preparations. The new familiar might be a duplicate or reincarnation of your former familiar or a new entity altogether, but it knows the same spells your former familiar knew regardless. Your familiar's death doesn't affect any spells you have already prepared.
Witch Spellcasting
Using your familiar as a conduit, your patron provides you the power to cast spells. You can cast spells using the Cast a Spell activity, and you can supply material, somatic, and verbal components when casting spells.
At 1st level, you can prepare up to two 1st-level spells and five cantrips each morning from the spells your familiar knows. Prepared spells remain available to you until you cast them or until you prepare your spells again. The number of spells you can prepare is called your spell slots.
As you increase in level as a witch, your number of spell slots and the highest level of spells you can cast from spell slots increase, as shown in Table 2–7: Witch Spells per Day.
Some of your spells require you to attempt a spell attack roll to see how effective they are, or have your enemies roll against your spell DC (typically by attempting a saving throw). Since your key ability is Intelligence, your spell attack rolls and spell DCs use your Intelligence modifier.
Heightening Spells
When you get spell slots of 2nd level and higher, you can fill those slots with stronger versions of lower-level spells. This increases the spell's level, heightening it to match the spell slot. Many spells have specific improvements when they are heightened to certain levels.
Cantrips
Some of your spells are cantrips. A cantrip is a special type of spell that doesn't use spell slots. You can cast a cantrip at will, any number of times per day. A cantrip is automatically heightened to half your level rounded up—this is usually equal to the highest level of witch spell slot you have. For example, as a 1st-level witch, your cantrips are 1st-level spells, and as a 5th-level witch, your cantrips are 3rd-level spells.
Hexes
Your patron and familiar teach you special spells called hexes. A hex is a short-term effect drawn directly from your patron's magic. As such, you can cast only one hex each turn; attempts to cast a second hex spell on that turn fail and the spellcasting actions are lost.
Hexes are a type of focus spell. It costs 1 Focus Point to cast a focus spell, and you start with a focus pool of 1 Focus Point. You refill your focus pool during your daily preparations, and you can regain 1 Focus Point by spending 10 minutes using the Refocus activity to commune with your familiar. Focus spells are automatically heightened to half your level rounded up.
Focus spells don't require spell slots, and you can't cast them using spell slots. Certain feats can give you more focus spells and increase the size of your focus pool, though your focus pool can never hold more than 3 Focus Points. The full rules for focus spells appear
here.
You learn the
phase familiar hex, which you can cast as a reaction to protect your familiar from harm. You learn most other hexes from witch lessons.
Hex Cantrips
Hex cantrips are special hexes that don't cost Focus Points, so you can cast them as often as you like, though you can still cast only one hex each round. Hex cantrips are in addition to the cantrips you choose with your witch spellcasting and aren't counted toward your prepared cantrips. Your hex cantrips are determined by your patron theme.
Skill FeatsLevel 2
At 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a skill feat. You must be trained or better in the corresponding skill to select a skill feat.
Witch FeatsLevel 2
At 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a
witch class feat.
General FeatsLevel 3
At 3rd level and every 4 levels thereafter, you gain a general feat.
Skill IncreasesLevel 3
At 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a skill increase. You can use this increase either to increase your proficiency rank to trained in one skill you're untrained in, or to increase your proficiency rank in one skill in which you're already trained to expert.
At 7th level, you can use skill increases to increase your proficiency rank to master in a skill in which you're already an expert, and at 15th level, you can use them to increase your proficiency rank to legendary in a skill in which you're already a master.
Ability BoostsLevel 5
At 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter, you boost four different ability scores. You can use these ability boosts to increase your ability scores above 18. Boosting an ability score increases it by 1 if it's already 18 or above, or by 2 if it starts out below 18.
Ancestry FeatsLevel 5
In addition to the ancestry feat you started with, you gain an ancestry feat at 5th level and every 4 levels thereafter.
Magical FortitudeLevel 5
Your patron's power boosts your physical resiliency. Your proficiency rank for Fortitude saves increases to expert.
Expert SpellcasterLevel 7
You've learned to better control the power your patron has granted you. Your proficiency ranks for spell attacks and spell DCs for your witch spellcasting increase to expert.
Lightning ReflexesLevel 9
Your reflexes are lightning fast, helping you avoid danger. Your proficiency rank for Reflex saves increases to expert.
AlertnessLevel 11
You remain alert to threats around you. Your proficiency rank for Perception increases to expert.
Weapon ExpertiseLevel 11
Through sheer experience, you've improved your technique with your weapons. Your proficiency ranks for simple weapons and unarmed attacks increase to expert.
Defensive RobesLevel 13
The flow of magic through your spellcasting and your defensive training combine to help you get out of the way before an attack. Your proficiency rank in unarmored defense increases to expert.
Weapon SpecializationLevel 13
You can inflict greater injuries with the weapons you know. You deal 2 additional damage with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you are an expert. This damage increases to 3 if you're a master and 4 if you're legendary.
Master SpellcasterLevel 15
You've achieved mastery over your patron's magic. Your proficiency ranks for spell attacks and spell DCs for your witch spellcasting increase to master.
ResolveLevel 17
Communion with your familiar has steeled your mental fortitude. Your proficiency rank for Will saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Will save, you get a critical success instead.
Legendary SpellcasterLevel 19
You've perfected your command of the magic your patron provides. Your proficiency ranks for spell attacks and spell DCs for your witch spellcasting increase to legendary.
Patron's GiftLevel 19
Your patron grants you the power to command incredible works of magic. You gain a single 10th-level spell slot and can prepare a spell in that slot using witch spellcasting. Unlike with other spell slots, these spell slots can't be used for abilities that let you cast spells without expending spell slots or abilities that give you more spell slots. You don't gain more 10th-level spells as you level up, though you can take the
Patron's Truth feat to gain a second slot.