Witch

Witchcraft

Traditions of witchcraft:

Everyone has:

• Cauldron
• Familiar
• Phylactery

Optional traditions:

• Blood
• Frost
• Black
• Mind
• Death

If you take Witch at level 1, you gain a tradition as a bonus feat. Otherwise, you must spend a Class Feat to gain one.

Spells Known

You know all spells in your traditions, and all universal Witch spells.

Powering Spells

Some spells require Vitae, a form of life energy that can be gathered through various means. Each tradition has a specific way to gather Vitae. All Vitae is the same; if you have more than one tradition, you may gather Vitae through any and all methods known to you, and spend it on any spells you know.

Universal Spells and Formulae

Cauldron

Brew Potion: Each day, you can create a number of potions, elixirs, or alchemical concoctions equal to your Witch level + your Wisdom modifier. Potions last 10 minutes unless otherwise specified.

Rank 1

• Healing Potion: Heal the imbiber for heavy damage.
• Growth Potion: Increase or decrease the imbiber's size by one category (your choice), lasting 10 minutes. (Increasing size grants a +4 size bonus to Str and Con, -2 penalty to Dex, -2 penalty to Dodge, -4 penalty to hit, and +4 bonus to Str-based damage; decreasing does the opposite).
• Sleep Potion: Puts imbiber to sleep for however long creatures of that type naturally sleep, unless awoken.
• Elixir of Longstrider
• Elixir of Thick Skin (+AC)
• Elixir of Animal Friendship
• Elixir of Woodland Stride

Rank 2

• Invisibility Potion: Daily, short rest; you create 1d3+2 potions which make the imbiber invisible until they take or inflict damage, or use a power that causes debilitating effects, or otherwise lasts 10 minutes.
• Love Potion: Imbiber falls in love with the first person they see after drinking (Wis ends, 3 strike rule, lasts until imbiber completes a long rest).
• Elixir of Nondetection
• Elixir of Darkvision
• Elixir of Water Breathing

Rank 3

• Speed Potion: Grants a bonus action of any type each round (std, swift, move, reaction) for 3 rds.
• Flying Potion: Grants a fly speed of 10 for 5 rounds.

Familiar

Figuring out how to level this up. Feats?

Phylactery

Given a Sympathetic Component, you can create what is known as a Phlyactery: an object which has a magical link to the creature from which the sympathetic component was formed. Phylacteries have a myriad of uses, because the laws of magic dictate that the phylactery and the creature are one in the same, and what happens to one happens to the other. Furthermore, possession of a phylactery gives you a measure of possession of the creature, allowing you to contest their will, push past their defenses, and get inside their mind and/or body.

A sympathetic component is:

• A part of the creature's, such as blood or tissue
• An attuned item, such as a treasured possession that they virtually never let go of (e.g. a wedding ring, treasured locket, etc), or any attuned magic item

Living matter loses its connection to its host over time. The sympathetic link can still be created, but it requires the investiture of vital energy. Similarly, less-attuned but still somewhat treasured items have a weaker connection to the host that can be exploited, with the help of external investiture. Thus, you have two rituals to create a phylactery:

• Std; given a part of a creature's body sampled within the last 1 minute/level, or an attuned item, you create a phylactery.
• 1 minute, 1 Vitae; given a part of a creature's body sampled within the last 1 day/level, or an item of significance to the creature, you create a phylactery linked to them.

Once you have a phylactery, there are several maneuvers available to you that make use of it:

• Locate Creature: at-will; as you concentrate, you sense the direction of the creature, and the rough distance (1 yard, 10 yards, 100 yards, 1 mile, 10 miles, 100 miles, etc).
• Spirit Link: at-will; you create a mental link to the creature. You may speak to the subject through that creature. You perceive the subject and its most immediate surroundings (a few feet). Lasts as long as you concentrate.
• Transmit Weal or Woe: at-will; you may cast a spell or use a physical attack against the doll. This transmits the effect of the spell or attack to the subject, over any distance, bypassing all wards. Each such attack has a 25% chance of destroying the doll permanently.
• Recall Spirit: 1 minute cast, concentration, subject must be dead; you conjure the creature's spirit, allowing communication. If unwilling to cooperate, you may force the subject spirit to answer questions (Will ends effect, one save per question). Destroys phylactery.
• Steal Visage: 1 minute cast, reserve; you take the form of subject, down to the most minute detail. You know important knowledge the subject would know, such as the names and faces of his close companions. To recall an important detail, such as a secret only he would know, when prompted for it, you may force it from the phylactery (Will ends; a passed save means you can conjure no more secrets this casting). Destroys phylactery.

Divination

Various means of divining truth, seeing afar, or predicting the future, all powered by the Vitae of the one seeking the answer (not necessarily the witch).

Notes:

• Soulgaze?
• Detect Magic of some kind
• Mirrors / orbs / pools of water

Traditions

Anti-Magic

Anti-Magic is the tradition of drawing Vitae from other magicks. As such, it is well-suited to combating spellcasters.

Rank 0

• Antimagic Touch: Std, touch; roll your Spellcasting skill against the spell's DC. On success, you end the effect and gain 1 Vitae.

Rank 1

• Absorb Magic: Reaction to an incoming hostile spell; as Antimagic Touch.
• Liberate Vitae: Std, ranged; you attack the subject's Vitae, Mana, Focus, or other supernatural energy source, if they have one. This causes them to lose 1d4 points of energy, Cha half (minimum zero). At each rank above 1, the die type increases.

Rank 2

• Antimagic Zone
• Spellsteal

Rank 3

• Antimagic Aura

Blood

Blood Witches draw Vitae from living blood. The blood can belong to anyone, even themself.

Rank 0

• Let Blood: swift; you let your own blood, suffering light damage, but gaining 1 Vitae.

Rank 1

• Burning Blood: std, ranged; blood bursts into flame.
  • Can be used on a target who has suffered damage in the current encounter, causing fire damage based on how damaged they already are: if above 50% max HP, they suffer medium damage. If at 50% or below, they suffer heavy damage.
  • Can be used on blood that has spilled on the ground, creating an area effect. TBD
  • Can be used on your own blood, spilled purposefully in such a way to create a fire effect lasting 8 hours, and having the same practical use as a campfire. Costs 1 HP.
• Transfusion: std, touch; you transfer Hit Points between yourself and the touched subject.
  • Healing: you transfer an amount of your choice, to a maximum of either your current HP, or the amount the target is missing, whichever is lower. You lose that many HP, and they gain it. The damage you suffer is internal and cannot be mitigated by any means. If the subject consents, this spell can be reversed, transferring their HP to you; if they are unwilling or unable to consent, treat as "Harming", below.
  • Harming: you inflict heavy necrotic damage (Con half), and you are healed for half the amount dealt. Excess healing beyond your maximum is wasted.

Rank 2

• Dominari Sanguinem: telekinetically control blood (suck it out of people, animate them, etc)
• Blood Bond: bond two creatures together by mixing their blood. Spells think both are the same target; freely share damage; know where the other is; etc.
• Frozen Blood

Rank 3

• Ironguard

Plague

Plague Witches draw Vitae from disease. By nature, disease is a life form that harms or kills to empower itself.

Rank 1

• Contagion

Rank 2

• Pestilence

Frost

Rank 0

• Cold Spell Name TBD: You absorb energy from the environment, making it colder. Gain 1 Vitae. The effect varies (choose one):
  • Swift, centered circle 3; area becomes noticably colder (about 20 degrees C). This is instantaneous, and interacts with wind and other forces normally.
  • Swift, you form a shard of ice in your hand, formed of the latent moisture in the air. This has the practical statistics of a dagger, at least until it melts at the end of the encounter.
  • Std, touch; subject suffers heavy frost damage (Con half).

Rank 1

• Frost Barrier: swift, 1 Vitae; you surround yourself with a barrier of frost, gaining Absorb 100% to all external damage, to a limit equal to a heavy damage roll. Lasts until expended or until the encounter ends.
• Frost Nova: std, ranged, burst 2; light frost damage plus chilled (50% movement penalty), Con ends.

Rank 2

• Wall of Ice

Black

Black Witches draw Vitae from the source: living creatures. This is considered the darkest tradition, and stains the Chroma of any witch who uses it

Notes: this is highly redundant with Blood and Anti-Magic, mechanically speaking

Rank 1

• Lifedrain
• Malevolence

Rank 2

• Drain Soul
• Grudge

Mind

There is vitality in emotion; powerful emotions can be tapped for Vitae.

Rank 1

• Emotion
• Mindfire: psychic damage, plus subject feels terrible pain and fear, which you harness as Vitae.

Rank 2

• Mind Control
• Veil

Death

Death Witches draw Vitae from the passing of life, as all living creatures emit their Vitae upon death. By taking control of Vitae during this transition, it is possible to animate the dead.

Rank 1

• Death Toll: reaction (or free action on your turn) to a creature dying in range; gain Vitae.
• Reanimation: use Vitae to animate a corpse under your control.

Rank 2

• Corpse Explosion
• Necrosis
• Hasten Death

White

The tradition of faith, sometimes called "White" magic, is one dedicated to respecting the laws of magic, and humbly asking for blessings, presumably in exchange for good deeds and strict adherence to a moral code. It does not require belief in a specific deity--only reverence for Magic itself, and its natural laws--although many worlds have goddesses of magic that fit this faith well.

Rank 1

• Blessing
• Supplication

Feats

• Felicity
• Improved Familiars