Last Updated: March 21, 2022
Introduction
Witch archetypes typically double-down on the Witch’s Patron. Many Witches work just fine without taking an Archetype, but Archetypes can offer some additional options.
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- : Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
- : OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.
- : Good options. Useful often.
- : Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character. Useful very frequently.
Witch Archetypes
Beast-Bonded
The Witch is already very dependent on its familiar, and the Beast-Bonded archetype takes this dependency one step further. The abilities aren’t particularly great, but you can improve them slightly by taking Improved Familiar and picking a suitably cool familiar.
(Ex): You are a spellcaster. You cast spells. Your familiar is an amusing pet, but it’s hardly capable of competing with you as a spellcaster. Giving it some feats won’t change that.
(Su): Wow. One level higher. Yay.
(Sp): This is a decent ability for one or two levels, assuming that you built your character intending to polymorph.
(Su): I would strongly consider killing my character intentionally just to be able to run around inside my pet cat or whatever.
Features Replaced: Hex (4th, 8th, 10th)
Valid Archetypes: Hex Channeler, Mountain Witch, Sea Witch
Gravewalker
The Gravewalker is not your run of the mill master of the undead. Most undead-centric spellcasting archetypes are centered around having ever larger groups of undead minions. The Gravewalker can also create undead, but instead of pointing them at their foes, Gravewalkers inhabit the bodies of their undead minions. This can lead to horrific things like a Witch occupying the body of a shadow while she runs around murdering people. Because this archetype is dependent on having multiple undead minions, it can cause issues in a normal party. Consult your GM and your party before introducing mobs of skeletons to the party.
: The Gravewalker’s spells give the Witch all of the undead creation and control spells required to be a master of the undead.
- : Totally redundant with your Bonethrall ability.
- : Time to build an army. If you create more undead than Animate Dead allows you to control, you can use Command Undead to control the ones that fall out of control.
- : Create some scary undead. The spell is more expensive than Animate Dead, but the difference between a ghoul and a zombie is pretty huge.
- : Unintelligent undead still get a save, and the duration is shorter than Command Undead.
- : Create some very scary undead.
: The flavor of this ability is fantastic, but losing the normal utility of a familiar is disappointing. Of course, the spell poppet gets some pretty fantastic powers as you level.
(Su): This makes melee touch attacks considerably safer to use.
(Su): The channel boost doesn’t matter much, but the increased range for your Deliver Touch Spells ability is exellent.
(Su): Even if you need to create the undead yourself, an extra hit die of controlled undead per level is great. You can use this ability at will, so even if your pets manage to shake your control, you can just try again.
(Sp): Magic Jar is a complicated spell, and this slightly changes the way it works. Here’s how it works, step by step:
- Activate ability as a standard action.
- Select on undead minion within your aura of despair: Your mind transfers into the body of your minion.
- Your minion’s conciousness (or whatever serves as “conciousness”) is transferred into your Spell Poppet.If your Spell Poppet is destroyed, the effect ends.
- Your body appears dead as far as anyone can tell.
- You occupy the body as specified in the Magic Jar spell description: If you are successful, your life force occupies the host body, and the host’s life force is imprisoned in the magic jar. You keep your Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, level, class, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, alignment, and mental abilities. The body retains its Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, hit points, natural abilities, and automatic abilities. A body with extra limbs does not allow you to make more attacks (or more advantageous two-weapon attacks) than normal. You can’t choose to activate the body’s extraordinary or supernatural abilities. The creature’s spells and spell-like abilities do not stay with the body.
- You may shift back to your Spell Poppet as a standard action, which ends the ability.
Features Replaced: Familiar, Hex (1st, 4th, 8th)
Valid Archetypes: Hex Channeler, Mountain Witch
Hedge Witch
The Healing patron provides a lot of spells to remove status effects, but very little actual healing. By combining the Hedge Witch and the Healing patron, you can nearly match the healing abilities of the Cleric. If your party lacks a healer, this is a great option.
(Su): This saves you a lot of known spells, and allows you to heal your allies with no prior preperation.
(Su): Very situational. Why would you take on someone’s afflictions when you can cure them just as easily?
Features Replaced: Hex (4th, 8th)
Valid Archetypes: Hex Channeler, Mountain Witch, Sea Witch
Hex Channeler
If you want to channel energy, Clerics and Paladins both do it considerably better than the Hex Channeler. Hex Channeler also introduces a dependency on Charisma for which the Witch otherwise has no other use.
(Su): You only have to give up the Hex you gain at 2nd level, but if you want more channel damage, you have to keep giving up Hexes. Hexes are fantastic, and Channel Energy is passable if you put some effort into it. Why would you give up a list of fantastic abilities for one passable ability?
Features Replaced: Hex (2nd)
Valid Archetypes: Beast-Bonded, Gravewalker, Hedge Witch, Sea Witch
Mountain Witch
The Mountain Witch essentially takes the Shaman’s Stone Spirit and uses it to partially replace the Witch’s Patron. Unfortunately, the Stone Spirit options gained are poor.
: Very few good spells.
- : Awful.
- : Mediocre area control with a splash of damage.
- : Very situational.
- : Fantastic, but too expensive to use on a regular basis.
- : Fantastic utility.
- : Very situational.
- : You can do some weird stuff to use this to protect yourself in combat, but it’s fairly situational.
- : Decent area control.
- : Good combination of damage and crowd control.
: The Stone Spirit’s list of Hexes is mediocre.
(Ex): Very situational, and it depends on Charisma, which is a dump stat for Witches.
Features Replaced: Hex (2nd), Patron Spells
Valid Archetypes: Beast-Bonded, Gravewalker, Hedge Witch
Sea Witch
I hate aquatic themed archetypes. I hate them so much. Every class has at least one and they are all terrible. Some of them, including this one, are even terrible while you’re in/on/around/under water.
Patron: Why do you even get to pick a patron? All of the patron spells are replaced by this archetype. Pick something weird just to mess with your GM.
:
- : Very situational, and you still need Water Breathing.
- : Situational.
- : Situational, but essential for aquatic archetypes.
- : Situational.
- : It’s very rare that you will be around groups of enemies weak enough to die to this spell.
- : Allows you to prevent enemies from flying.
- : Very situational.
- : Very situational.
- : A bit of damage, and some excellent area control. Throw it at groups of enemies.
(Sp): Situational and needlessly restrictive.
(Ex): Even more situational than Wild Empathy, which is already very situational.
Features Replaced: Hex (1st), Patron, Patron Spells
Valid Archetypes: Beast-Bonded, Hedge Witch, Hex Channeler
