Important bit about some of the hexes. They are one action. The witch is the only class that from jump can reliably cast two spells per turn. Even if it’s a mediocre effect sometimes, that you’ve put two effects on the table adds up.
What I love about this class concept is most of the abilities are Single Action, making sustaining stuff while casting more debuffs common. All the action economy!
Witch's Hut: your hut is a hut, small house, covered wagon, tent, or similar construction of *up to Huge size.* It doesn't *have to be* Huge in size. So, create a regular tent as your Witch's Hut, order it to Hide, roll it into your backpack and go spelunking.
But honestly, if you could have a walking house to travel in, why wouldn't you? I mean 4x4 spaces is not that big, but It can carry some alchemical equipment. That makes me wonder: Can you install things like a lab or a forge in the hut?
I love the idea of ordering the hut to hide and it just sprouts some legs and goes hidding somewhere. Same with it shrinking in size to fit into the backpack. Portable home FTW. lol
Sorry, that sounds like a glitch in our system. I'd double-check to make sure you're both liked and subscribed, and if that doesn't fix it, try turning it off and back on again.
Thank you for making this, I just started looking into playing Pathfinder 2e yesterday and man am I overwhelmed with all the choices. This helped me sort things out and break things down into more manageable pieces. The character so far is Kimya Hemlock a Jinxed Tengu Occult Librarian that worked with other hermits and lovers of all kinds of knowledge to create a repository of learning that was neutral in its morality. Somewhere into the secluded dark woods stood an enormous tree where ladders and ropes brought you to shelves upon shelves of tomes, scrolls, runes etc of all kinds of esoteric knowledge. An order of paladins found this repository and judged it forbidden and immoral and burned it to the ground to prevent all from finding out the occult knowledge. Kimya escaped, singed and empty handed. Vengeance and spite welled up within her and drove her to seek ways of punishing the paladins in cruel and unusual ways, drawing the curiosity of an ancient hag that took Kimya as student. While character building the players all noticed they ended up with chaotic/dubious characters so the DM is planning an adventure where we get to let loose and be more on the evil side of things for once so I made a spiteful witch out to eliminate her foes with guile and slow agony.
Witch's Hut is super cool, and also the kind of feat I think I as a GM would just give for free as a reward for completing a quest, for this witch's specific patron probably.
I think the terms he is using creature is to mean non-humanoid. I could be wrong. We loosely say creature to refer baddies but I think in this case he is meaning creature as in non-humanoid.
34:09 I think it means that Detect Magic spells and Identify spells see the thing as a normal cart, tent, hut, whatever, and not a humongous self propelled abomination. Anyway, basically this Feat is just to replicate the infamous hut of Baba Yaga, the "little house on hen legs" - a house that was kinda ornery and only let you in if you asked politely. Basically, the "lock" effect on Baba Yaga's hut wasn't the door locking - it was the entire freakin' hut turning around so that the door was pointing away from you. You had to politely ask the damn thing to please turn around so that you could get inside (which, given that BABA YAGA HERSELF was inside, could probably be a VERY bad idea, as the Good Granny - ALWAYS call her "Good Granny", unless you fancy a new career as stew - takes insolence and intruding VERY badly)
Rites of convocation doesn't give you access to summoning spells that aren't on your tradition spell list. Though it's cool that with 10 minutes you can situationnally summon the perfect monster of the perfect level to do the job (build a bridge, scout, fly, convince, cast any spell that celestial can and so on)
You forgot to mention they get extra familiar abilities when they start off. Witches are the absolute best familiar users in the game, and they are the easiest to gain specific familiars.
The big factor in "Conceal Spell" is that if Pathfinder 2e is like 1e, spellcasting is obvious. I don't just mean your actions. I mean like huge magic auras, arcane glyphs, etc. They pretty much made it so it is impossible to hide what you are doing without the right feats.
Rites of Convocation: "Choose one _summon_ spell (such as _summon animal, summon contstuct,_ and so forth) that *appears on the spell list of your spellcasting tradition.* " [Emphasis mine] So no, you can't get summon spells from traditions other than the one you already have access to.
I really love the idea of Hut, having a veranda with some chairs on it, the whole party could travel overland at twice the speed of a fleet catfolk, whilst chilling drinking lemonade, and potentially even doing downtime activities!
For anyone comming here too learn about Pathfinder stuff after the OGL fiasco with D&D. The Witch is basically a D&D Warlock but is an Intelligence Caster, they get a cool magical pet that gives them their spells, and their Patron can be pretty much anything and they might not even no who their Patron is. They have a ton of other differences from D&D Warlocks but at the most basic, insultingly simple level, Witches are Pathfinder's answer for Warlocks
In defense of Clinging Ice, its a damaging cantrip that you can cast for only one action. So instead of using it as a speed debuff, you can instead spend your turns to cast two action spells on your main target and your last action pinging a bunch of other enemies with Clinging Ice.
Vs a solo enemy, sustaining it can also be quite good. Lowering the speed of a single enemy can be great for kiting them, especially if used in conjunction with other forms of action mitigation.
Definitely. I’m currently playing a winter witch and Clinging Ice has definitely become my F.U. Spell. I can cast so many different two action spells, then add Clinging Ice to it for just that much more damage, or hit a completely different target. He also didn’t mention it heightens every spell level, so that 1d4 levels up quickly. I’m in a group with a few other spellcasters, and we all de-buff alongside our other spells. So slowing their movement speed *on top of casting slow in the same round,* PLUS someone else giving a minus to will saves or some other save, or making them afraid or enfeebled.... then the fighters get the bad guy flanked... you can REALLY quickly screw a bad guy over. Quickly.
Every caster that gets to choose their spellcasting tradition is the superior caster imo. now if only we could get that kind of flexibility on a wisdom-based caster.
To add to Clinging Ice, once again, you are comparing the effects and damage output of Ray and Frost and Tanglefoot. So you can basically cast Clinging Ice and Ray of Frost in the same round.
Regarding Personal Blizzard, I am almost completely sure it does mean just '1' rather than '1d6'. Doubling a spell's spell level will, very roughly, double its power, and in this case it starts as a 3rd level spell doing an average of 3.5 damage (for each component). Heightening it three times to 6th level brings it to 6.5 damage each, which is perfectly in line. Honestly I think I prefer it this way rather than adding a 1d6 every Heightened (+3), it's more reliable. By comparison, Curse of Death's scaling is 'just' fair: The first stage scales great (to 9d6 at 10th level), but even the second gets just over 50% stronger. Admittedly the first stage is the most important and 13d6 ticking damage is brutal no matter how you frame it.
Familiar's Eyes not only offers a more potent version of the similar familiar ability, but it also frees you up to swap that particular ability out for something else. It's a nice option if you often find yourself wishing you had one more familiar/master ability (though I recommend not taking it until 14 if you're not planning on taking Reflect Spell)
Around the 19:00 minute mark, you mentioned a Counterspell video that would be in the corner, but I didn't see one when I watched it 10/25/22. I'm not sure if it never got added or if it disappeared somehow.
My DM is starting a new campaign in 2E at level 3, and I'm strongly considering a crafter witch. They will be an Ancient Elf to give them the Alchemist Dedication at lvl1, then Specialty/Alchemical Crafting feats, AND Basic Lesson (Life) at lvl2. Their familiar will be an owl with flight, darkvision, and extra reagents. They know like 6-8 formulae, can make a load of items each day, and cast healing spells on top of that, in a batch of 6 with Cauldron. Healing is my forte in gaming, the last campaign (1E) I started with a Merciful Healer cleric before switching to a Hedge Witch Healing Patron witch. They're a travelling salesman character with actually legit goods, at least this early before session 0.
Clinging Ice is arguably the best Hex Cantrip. Being 1 action while Ray of Frost and Tanglefoot are both two makes it much better than either. Better than Ray of Frost especially. Sure, at level 1, 1d4 for one action vs. 1d4 + Int for two actions is pretty comparable. But at level 10? 5d4 for one action vs 5d4 + Int for two actions pulls out way ahead for Clinging Ice. And Tanglefoot lasts only 1 round no matter what, while Clinging Ice lasts as long as the Witch sustains. The only actual weakness of Clinging Ice is the range and how creatures become immune to it after you use it on them. But I mean, it can't be the go to best option in every scenario.
Clinging Ice is pretty interesting. It doesn’t deal damage when you sustain, so it’s not going to help your DPR much if you’re not fighting a group. On the other hand, when you are fighting a solo enemy you can sustain to keep their speed down and potentially abuse that in order to kite the enemy.
@@kamiro-nanayako No, it scales every 4 character levels if i'm not mistaken. It says "+2", which is referring to spell level, which increases every 2 levels.
"When you successfully cast a non-cantrip hex..." seems pretty specific to me. I would interpret that the spell would be cast normally with the Cast A Spell activity, with the strike occurring as a free action with with the full quote from the previous portion of the sentence as a trigger. I don't think you can 'unsuccessfully' cast a non-cantrip hex unless someone interrupts it, but it is interesting they make it part of the 'spellcasting activity'.
I had a LE half elf witch for a few months (sadly the campaign died out). He was super fun to play, he had the Winter theme and was all about freezing people and slow death, more of a red mage giving debuffs than a white mage supporting with heals. Also had the hair and claws, so high strength low dex, buff mage! One of the most enjoyable PCs I've made in a long time, I love the witch's kit and the RP potential is amazing (he also had a snake familiar, that aided is creeping people out). 10/10, wish I could play him again
Having truly extensive experience playing a Winter Witch, I do think they're a little doodoo. It doesn't really feel like the trade off in terms of spellcasting ability is there for their bad HP and proficiencies, compared to other casters, and their feat options feel really shallow at the moment. I'd really like to see them get some more feats that aren't either staples other spellcasters also get or primarily flavor options.
About Clinging Ice, i believe the issue they thought of is being able to kite for 1 min almost everyone and still damage them, on a crit at least. -10 ft speed and recurring damage make it so that even 3-action run won't get the target near the 2-action run caster.
I'm not sure, i can see it operating this way only if the target gets a save each sustained turn, but then the wording for the speed decrease would be cheesy. I'd say no both from balance issue and wording. Thus i'd agree it's not a very good one on average, but speed reduction can be clutch. As most hybrid abilities it's nothing game-breaking in itself.
23:30 if we're going off the RAW of Eldritch Nails, it does say "when you successfully cast a non-cantrip hex", which means you have to cast first, then Strike. This would provoke an attack of opportunity and potentially disrupt the spell. Likewise, since the spell is cast, you potentially completely waste that focus point, since the feat states "if this Strike misses, the hex has no effect" Eldritch Nails, as flavorful as it is, seems like a strict downgrade in terms of applying hexes. Sure, you *might* get to deal an extra 1d6+ damage, but if you miss (and you're a spellcaster, so your chance to hit likely isn't super high), the opponent doesn't even have to make a save against that hex. You may as well just throw that focus point away
I'm currently building a witch for extinction curse. She is a jinxed halfing witch who's patron is Baba Yaga. I loose halfing luck but I prefer jinxed for flavor. I chose the mystic seer background from the extinction curse players guide. My familiar is a crystal ball that I can cast spirit object on and give it chicken legs, thanks Baba Yaga! Also, she has a beard, its a circus after all.
As far as casting to spell into your nails the hex… I haven’t looked at the way it’s written yet but is there any reason you can’t do that before the encounter starts making it pretty much impossible for somebody to get an attack of opportunity?
Just thought i would toss a homebrew i gave to the witch in my game. Its a cantrip hex call festerer's touch. It can heal or damage for 1d4 when touching target. with medicine check it can absorb a lvl of poision or bleed to be used on next attack. really helped balance the party out and gave witch more to move around and do.
0:25 uh... something is wrong... I have a popup despite my subscription and the like-button on my end is only unlocked at the very end of videos... could someone please patch this?
1e Witch was my favorite class. I loved the hexes, some were absolute garbage but the ones that weren't were great. I do wish there were more hexes, kind of like the amount of rage powers you got with barbarian, but since I was always forever DM, I guess it never really mattered all that much in the end.
How's clinging ice bad? It does half of ray of frost and half of tanglefoot... In one action. That is huge since it lets you cast a spell or even ray of frost if you want to play an Ice witch and double down. All hex cantrips are pretty good because of the action economy alone
Hi, 8 months late to the show, but Needle of Vengeance's saving throw is crystal clear. It's a basic saving throw, and as per the CRB, any basic saving throw is double damage on crit fail, full on fail, half on success, and nothing on crit success. There's just no extra effects to elaborate on beyond the damage. :)
So my witch player used Personal Blizzard during the playtest (back when you could get it earlier). The concealment effect is absolutely worth it against a boss. Your players will make far more attacks than a boss will, so even though everyone has the same DC 11 flat check, your players will succeed more often than the boss thanks to more opportunities to attack. Additionally the Cat's Eye Elixir (in core!) reduces the DC of a flat check due to concealment to a DC 5. IT is incredibly cheap to make and my witch has been crafting these as fast as possible. Pop them against a boss and inflict Personal Blizzard. The boss will be vastly less dangerous.
I think it'd be cool to homebrew the nails as an upgraded version of the hair so you could keep the hair going and be eldritch mage bobobo whipping people with nose hairs and cursing them on impact while being buffed by rune engraved nose rings...
I don't know if anyone else said this but Lost Omens Legends has Baba Yaga as a patron. Baba Yaga (Rare Witch Patron) Baba Yaga teaches you how to transfer spirits into objects and freeze your foes. Spell List occult Patron Skill Occultism Hex Cantrip spirit object Granted Spell chilling spray (Advanced Player’s Guide 217)
I ADORE witch in 1E, but haven't made the full jump to 2E yet (my group is determined to play through every single 1E adventure path). Have you ever/would you ever compare and contrast how each class works in both editions?
Question, does a magus spell attack or whatever the is trigger opportunity attacks? If not, I would give the witch the free hex with no opportunity attack
one thing with Cackle you do not have "manipulations" or "consentrations" trait so unless some espesific thing you do not generate any attack of oportunity (or how ever the class call it)
Also if the persistan damage end with the spell that mean.. the target suffer the persistan damage and have they flat DC to get rid of... but in the second you stop sustained the damage will end and not in their turn after dealing damage
Viewer: So which class is today's video? Nonat: Witch. Viewer: That's what I'm asking. Nonat: Witch. Viewer: Sigh, which CLASS? Nonat: Yeah, witch class. Viewer: That's what I'm asking you!
i really like the comb when you hit with your nails and then deal a free action hex spell. But do Witches have spells or feats or something to actually go into the first line without instantly being killed? can someone help me with that?
I’m new to the witch and familiars. The Witch lessons that give familiars a spell…does that mean it’s just added to your repertoire? Familiars don’t actually cast spells, right? I know they can deliver touch spells. Just a little confused by the wording.
with the WortWitch Feat, you can't be ambushed in a woodland area anymore with that one. granted useless in other locations, but pretty damn good combo with say a druid or ranger class
I'd rule that they don't get the AoO. The attack in this case is the somatic component. The real problem is that this only works with 2 Hexes: Curse of Death and Glacial Heart. By default anyway. I house ruled that a Witch that's psychotic enough to get into melee can use any Hex or possibly even Touch Spell with Eldritch nails.
Some lower level potions are good, but I agree that the 6 levels restrictions is a bit hard. Maybe reduce it to 4 levels lower than your own once you hit master prof, and then 2 levels lower when the witch is legendary with their specific skill? Alchemists can brew potions too! But with a 18th level feat and capped at 9th level potions.
I’m in a critiquing mood... apologies.... Erm... Clinging ice also Heightens (+1) +1d4. The thing is it combines Tanglefoot and Ray of Frost. No Counterspell popup. XD Rites of Convocation: take out the parenthses (such as [etc]), and it reads: “Choose one Summon spell that appears on the spell list of your spell casting tradition.” So it must come from your spell list. Loved the retakes. All i got. XD
Was actually about to pick a Wizard with a Witch Archetype for a one-shot coming up soon... but thanks to this video, I think I'm now going to go Witch with a Wizard archetype instead :P
I know it is late but for theme I would stick to Wizard with either witch or Lore oracle dedication feat or Investigator with any prepared caster dedication feat.
Great video like always. I'm now more interested to try an old concept. Sometime ago I had the idea to play a man who was a genetic chimera ... and the magical witch powers would not actually be his, but those of his unborn twin sister whose body was absorbed into his in their mother's womb. Because her underdeveloped magical consciousness would sometimes usurp control this would obviously be a Curse witch/warlock (sis casting Evil Eye on anyone who gets too close to what's HERS) with the Haunted background. Living Hair could be sis messing with brother's hair sometimes ... But is it just me or is Eldritch Nails VERY bad? It's a physical attack which Witches aren't good at, strength-based which is likely your dump stat and I'm not sure if you would lose your hex/focus point if you don't hit with the attack (which would be AWFUL, and I think that is how it is intended) or if it simply stays in your nails until you hit (which would be okay and probably my houserule). I think I would give Eldritch Nails +2 to unarmed attacks with the nails, finesse and if you miss with the attack, I'd consider letting the witch not lose the Hex, if she spends an action to keep it in her nails until the end of her next turn.
I wanna see if I can at least somewhat remake my 1e Calistria-worshipping Seducer Witch. I somehow managed to get a +50 non-magical bonus to all Diplomacy checks, and when combining my spells and hexes I could get functionally over +100. Seducer isn't an option in 2e, but witches are practically built for RP like that, so I'll have to play around!
I wouldn't give an attack of opportunity personally. It would feel like my ruling makes the feat viable or not, by default I'd say reward the player for taking the feat.
Can someone please explain to me why Nudge Fate has a Will save? Is it not supposed to be a beneficial spell/buff on an ally? Why would it require them to make a save against your spell in order to gain the effect? I don't get it.
Personal blizzard target still makes the flat checks sadly. It is still persistent dmg so it's rule still apply. However you can still sustain it for the concealed condition.
Haven't played one yet, still learning Pathfinder here, but man the Hex selections just seem super weak and lackluster, and you don't get many slots per day. The Feat options are so robust that there's a million ways to build this, but the guts of it seem like they hold it back.
I think Clinging Ice is better than you're giving it credit for. Even without sustaining, it's still a 1-action, scaling d4 that imposes a speed penalty until the start of your turn. Unlike Tanglefoot, they also don't have the option to attempt an Escape - they're just stuck with the speed penalty. And sure, Ray of Frost has a higher range and (slightly) higher damage, but it's also a 2-action spell with the attack trait that only debuffs on a crit and has no effect on a miss. For me, Clinging Ice is the default 3rd action when fighting a mob.
![[OLD] CHAMPION CLASS GUIDE (Part 1) - PATHFINDER SECOND EDITION](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0UuFpkY8FIs/mqdefault.jpg)
One of the things on my homebrew to do list is to make desert themed lessons for the witch... yes, I'm going to make a sand witch.
Please share what you make.
omg my sister wants to be a desert witch lol!!
Sounds tasty.
And here I thought you were going to have a Sugarplum Fairy as your Patron. That would have been sweet....
@@buffewo6386 o u t
Important bit about some of the hexes. They are one action. The witch is the only class that from jump can reliably cast two spells per turn. Even if it’s a mediocre effect sometimes, that you’ve put two effects on the table adds up.
One note. Cauldron doesn't grant alchemical formulas, it grants magical formulas, as potions are magic and elixirs are alchemical.
What I love about this class concept is most of the abilities are Single Action, making sustaining stuff while casting more debuffs common. All the action economy!
Witch's Hut: your hut is a hut, small house, covered wagon, tent, or similar construction of *up to Huge size.* It doesn't *have to be* Huge in size. So, create a regular tent as your Witch's Hut, order it to Hide, roll it into your backpack and go spelunking.
Yes I want a diminutive hut just because I can that sounds amazing
A 10 hardness 150hp teepee lol that is great
I imagine this like a self moving floating manta ray type tent
But honestly, if you could have a walking house to travel in, why wouldn't you? I mean 4x4 spaces is not that big, but It can carry some alchemical equipment. That makes me wonder: Can you install things like a lab or a forge in the hut?
I love the idea of ordering the hut to hide and it just sprouts some legs and goes hidding somewhere. Same with it shrinking in size to fit into the backpack. Portable home FTW. lol
Have I finished watching? No.
Have I liked already? Yes.
(Right after I wrote this, the "Free trial" pop-up came up)
Sorry, that sounds like a glitch in our system. I'd double-check to make sure you're both liked and subscribed, and if that doesn't fix it, try turning it off and back on again.
I am a simple man. I see a video about the Witch class, I thumbs up.
Thank you for making this, I just started looking into playing Pathfinder 2e yesterday and man am I overwhelmed with all the choices. This helped me sort things out and break things down into more manageable pieces.
The character so far is Kimya Hemlock a Jinxed Tengu Occult Librarian that worked with other hermits and lovers of all kinds of knowledge to create a repository of learning that was neutral in its morality. Somewhere into the secluded dark woods stood an enormous tree where ladders and ropes brought you to shelves upon shelves of tomes, scrolls, runes etc of all kinds of esoteric knowledge.
An order of paladins found this repository and judged it forbidden and immoral and burned it to the ground to prevent all from finding out the occult knowledge. Kimya escaped, singed and empty handed. Vengeance and spite welled up within her and drove her to seek ways of punishing the paladins in cruel and unusual ways, drawing the curiosity of an ancient hag that took Kimya as student.
While character building the players all noticed they ended up with chaotic/dubious characters so the DM is planning an adventure where we get to let loose and be more on the evil side of things for once so I made a spiteful witch out to eliminate her foes with guile and slow agony.
Witch's Hut is super cool, and also the kind of feat I think I as a GM would just give for free as a reward for completing a quest, for this witch's specific patron probably.
Blood ward: "good luck finding a creature not on that list!"
Me: humanoid?
I think the terms he is using creature is to mean non-humanoid. I could be wrong. We loosely say creature to refer baddies but I think in this case he is meaning creature as in non-humanoid.
34:09 I think it means that Detect Magic spells and Identify spells see the thing as a normal cart, tent, hut, whatever, and not a humongous self propelled abomination.
Anyway, basically this Feat is just to replicate the infamous hut of Baba Yaga, the "little house on hen legs" - a house that was kinda ornery and only let you in if you asked politely. Basically, the "lock" effect on Baba Yaga's hut wasn't the door locking - it was the entire freakin' hut turning around so that the door was pointing away from you. You had to politely ask the damn thing to please turn around so that you could get inside (which, given that BABA YAGA HERSELF was inside, could probably be a VERY bad idea, as the Good Granny - ALWAYS call her "Good Granny", unless you fancy a new career as stew - takes insolence and intruding VERY badly)
I don't care if Witches Hut is good. Every single witch I make will have it. ALL OF THEM!!!
@@mrfikss valid
Rites of convocation doesn't give you access to summoning spells that aren't on your tradition spell list.
Though it's cool that with 10 minutes you can situationnally summon the perfect monster of the perfect level to do the job (build a bridge, scout, fly, convince, cast any spell that celestial can and so on)
You forgot to mention they get extra familiar abilities when they start off. Witches are the absolute best familiar users in the game, and they are the easiest to gain specific familiars.
The big factor in "Conceal Spell" is that if Pathfinder 2e is like 1e, spellcasting is obvious. I don't just mean your actions. I mean like huge magic auras, arcane glyphs, etc. They pretty much made it so it is impossible to hide what you are doing without the right feats.
Rites of Convocation: "Choose one _summon_ spell (such as _summon animal, summon contstuct,_ and so forth) that *appears on the spell list of your spellcasting tradition.* " [Emphasis mine]
So no, you can't get summon spells from traditions other than the one you already have access to.
Ahh darn. My word dyslexia strikes again. Happens at least once per video. (usually more) Thanks for the clarification!
I really love the idea of Hut, having a veranda with some chairs on it, the whole party could travel overland at twice the speed of a fleet catfolk, whilst chilling drinking lemonade, and potentially even doing downtime activities!
I wish you could give the hut duck legs, so it could swim. I love the idea of sea witch and their house just paddling about scarring pirates.
For anyone comming here too learn about Pathfinder stuff after the OGL fiasco with D&D. The Witch is basically a D&D Warlock but is an Intelligence Caster, they get a cool magical pet that gives them their spells, and their Patron can be pretty much anything and they might not even no who their Patron is.
They have a ton of other differences from D&D Warlocks but at the most basic, insultingly simple level, Witches are Pathfinder's answer for Warlocks
Love the eldritch nails. The rune etching would totally be flavoured as a witch who loves fancy painted nails for me.
thought the same things
In defense of Clinging Ice, its a damaging cantrip that you can cast for only one action. So instead of using it as a speed debuff, you can instead spend your turns to cast two action spells on your main target and your last action pinging a bunch of other enemies with Clinging Ice.
So agreed.
Vs a solo enemy, sustaining it can also be quite good. Lowering the speed of a single enemy can be great for kiting them, especially if used in conjunction with other forms of action mitigation.
Definitely. I’m currently playing a winter witch and Clinging Ice has definitely become my F.U. Spell. I can cast so many different two action spells, then add Clinging Ice to it for just that much more damage, or hit a completely different target. He also didn’t mention it heightens every spell level, so that 1d4 levels up quickly.
I’m in a group with a few other spellcasters, and we all de-buff alongside our other spells. So slowing their movement speed *on top of casting slow in the same round,* PLUS someone else giving a minus to will saves or some other save, or making them afraid or enfeebled.... then the fighters get the bad guy flanked... you can REALLY quickly screw a bad guy over. Quickly.
Every caster that gets to choose their spellcasting tradition is the superior caster imo. now if only we could get that kind of flexibility on a wisdom-based caster.
Shaman (the cleric+witch from 1e's ACG) is a wisdom caster that I could see going flexible tradition if they decide to bring it into 2e
Agreed. But at least INT casters are better than CHA casters. Skill points!
@@CobaltContrast Not in 2E, sadly, at least not past Trained.
@@colinsmith1495 initial lv1 skill points and languages.
INT> CHA
Charisma needs more umph.
@@CobaltContrast I mean charisma seems like it'd be a heavily used stat considering you're a face with that as your Key Ability
To add to Clinging Ice, once again, you are comparing the effects and damage output of Ray and Frost and Tanglefoot. So you can basically cast Clinging Ice and Ray of Frost in the same round.
That and 1 Acton
Regarding Personal Blizzard, I am almost completely sure it does mean just '1' rather than '1d6'. Doubling a spell's spell level will, very roughly, double its power, and in this case it starts as a 3rd level spell doing an average of 3.5 damage (for each component). Heightening it three times to 6th level brings it to 6.5 damage each, which is perfectly in line. Honestly I think I prefer it this way rather than adding a 1d6 every Heightened (+3), it's more reliable. By comparison, Curse of Death's scaling is 'just' fair: The first stage scales great (to 9d6 at 10th level), but even the second gets just over 50% stronger. Admittedly the first stage is the most important and 13d6 ticking damage is brutal no matter how you frame it.
Already read about this class on book, but watch your video makes me understand a lot better, tks a lot.
Familiar's Eyes not only offers a more potent version of the similar familiar ability, but it also frees you up to swap that particular ability out for something else. It's a nice option if you often find yourself wishing you had one more familiar/master ability (though I recommend not taking it until 14 if you're not planning on taking Reflect Spell)
witch class guide and ancestry guide read through the same day? i love even more this channel
Good GM. Allowing a player to do that without having the feat. Most always! Good call on making it easier to do with the feat.
Around the 19:00 minute mark, you mentioned a Counterspell video that would be in the corner, but I didn't see one when I watched it 10/25/22. I'm not sure if it never got added or if it disappeared somehow.
I made an Azlanti human Rune witch that made their pact to gain as much knowledge as possible and I can't wait to play them some day!
My DM is starting a new campaign in 2E at level 3, and I'm strongly considering a crafter witch.
They will be an Ancient Elf to give them the Alchemist Dedication at lvl1, then Specialty/Alchemical Crafting feats, AND Basic Lesson (Life) at lvl2. Their familiar will be an owl with flight, darkvision, and extra reagents. They know like 6-8 formulae, can make a load of items each day, and cast healing spells on top of that, in a batch of 6 with Cauldron.
Healing is my forte in gaming, the last campaign (1E) I started with a Merciful Healer cleric before switching to a Hedge Witch Healing Patron witch.
They're a travelling salesman character with actually legit goods, at least this early before session 0.
Clinging Ice is arguably the best Hex Cantrip.
Being 1 action while Ray of Frost and Tanglefoot are both two makes it much better than either. Better than Ray of Frost especially. Sure, at level 1, 1d4 for one action vs. 1d4 + Int for two actions is pretty comparable.
But at level 10? 5d4 for one action vs 5d4 + Int for two actions pulls out way ahead for Clinging Ice.
And Tanglefoot lasts only 1 round no matter what, while Clinging Ice lasts as long as the Witch sustains.
The only actual weakness of Clinging Ice is the range and how creatures become immune to it after you use it on them. But I mean, it can't be the go to best option in every scenario.
These are very fair points. I hadn't considered the scaling into the higher levels. That definitely makes it pull ahead of basic cantrips.
Compare the two spells? I cast both in one round. Insert witch cackle.
@@CobaltContrast literally, nice
So I guess you could say it... Snowballs?
Eating your familiar every evening is the best thing to do. It will come back anyway.
Not sure if Clinging Ice is good but what it does have going for it is that it doesn't interact with MAP and it's 1 action.
and its damage grows every 2 levels... And it is the only real damaging Hex Cantrip. If you want to be more aggressive
Clinging Ice is pretty interesting. It doesn’t deal damage when you sustain, so it’s not going to help your DPR much if you’re not fighting a group. On the other hand, when you are fighting a solo enemy you can sustain to keep their speed down and potentially abuse that in order to kite the enemy.
@@kamiro-nanayako It increases every level
@@Benjamin-zu6gh not quite... It increases every 2 character levels
@@kamiro-nanayako No, it scales every 4 character levels if i'm not mistaken. It says "+2", which is referring to spell level, which increases every 2 levels.
"When you successfully cast a non-cantrip hex..." seems pretty specific to me. I would interpret that the spell would be cast normally with the Cast A Spell activity, with the strike occurring as a free action with with the full quote from the previous portion of the sentence as a trigger. I don't think you can 'unsuccessfully' cast a non-cantrip hex unless someone interrupts it, but it is interesting they make it part of the 'spellcasting activity'.
I have two witches that I've played... a kobold witch and a Shoanti witch. I love both of them. Witch is a great class.
I had a LE half elf witch for a few months (sadly the campaign died out). He was super fun to play, he had the Winter theme and was all about freezing people and slow death, more of a red mage giving debuffs than a white mage supporting with heals. Also had the hair and claws, so high strength low dex, buff mage! One of the most enjoyable PCs I've made in a long time, I love the witch's kit and the RP potential is amazing (he also had a snake familiar, that aided is creeping people out). 10/10, wish I could play him again
I love the witch! My favorite spell caster because they have so much flavor
Having truly extensive experience playing a Winter Witch, I do think they're a little doodoo.
It doesn't really feel like the trade off in terms of spellcasting ability is there for their bad HP and proficiencies, compared to other casters, and their feat options feel really shallow at the moment. I'd really like to see them get some more feats that aren't either staples other spellcasters also get or primarily flavor options.
About Clinging Ice, i believe the issue they thought of is being able to kite for 1 min almost everyone and still damage them, on a crit at least. -10 ft speed and recurring damage make it so that even 3-action run won't get the target near the 2-action run caster.
Do we have confirmation that Clinging Ice does recurring damage? I’m seeing some confusion online
I'm not sure, i can see it operating this way only if the target gets a save each sustained turn, but then the wording for the speed decrease would be cheesy. I'd say no both from balance issue and wording.
Thus i'd agree it's not a very good one on average, but speed reduction can be clutch. As most hybrid abilities it's nothing game-breaking in itself.
23:30 if we're going off the RAW of Eldritch Nails, it does say "when you successfully cast a non-cantrip hex", which means you have to cast first, then Strike. This would provoke an attack of opportunity and potentially disrupt the spell. Likewise, since the spell is cast, you potentially completely waste that focus point, since the feat states "if this Strike misses, the hex has no effect"
Eldritch Nails, as flavorful as it is, seems like a strict downgrade in terms of applying hexes. Sure, you *might* get to deal an extra 1d6+ damage, but if you miss (and you're a spellcaster, so your chance to hit likely isn't super high), the opponent doesn't even have to make a save against that hex. You may as well just throw that focus point away
Howdy Nonat, may I have a sample of your hair?
Definitely not putting a Voodoo doll together.
I'm currently building a witch for extinction curse. She is a jinxed halfing witch who's patron is Baba Yaga. I loose halfing luck but I prefer jinxed for flavor. I chose the mystic seer background from the extinction curse players guide. My familiar is a crystal ball that I can cast spirit object on and give it chicken legs, thanks Baba Yaga! Also, she has a beard, its a circus after all.
As far as casting to spell into your nails the hex… I haven’t looked at the way it’s written yet but is there any reason you can’t do that before the encounter starts making it pretty much impossible for somebody to get an attack of opportunity?
Just thought i would toss a homebrew i gave to the witch in my game. Its a cantrip hex call festerer's touch. It can heal or damage for 1d4 when touching target. with medicine check it can absorb a lvl of poision or bleed to be used on next attack. really helped balance the party out and gave witch more to move around and do.
0:25 uh... something is wrong... I have a popup despite my subscription and the like-button on my end is only unlocked at the very end of videos... could someone please patch this?
It seems like a glitch in the system. We should hopefully have it cleared up in our next hotfix. Thank you for your continued patronage!
1e Witch was my favorite class. I loved the hexes, some were absolute garbage but the ones that weren't were great. I do wish there were more hexes, kind of like the amount of rage powers you got with barbarian, but since I was always forever DM, I guess it never really mattered all that much in the end.
We need someone to become the AJ Pickett of Pathfinder, I want looooooore, and lots of it
This. So much this.
29:38. Just a question? Do you replace a feat with another feat of the same level on a level up or not?
Not on a level up, but you can spend one week of downtime to replace a feat with another feat of that level or lower.
@@Nonat1s So I could replace a 5th level feat for an another 3rd level feat?
@@milanmarkovic2721 yes
@@qwertyasdf9290 so while we level up we can have 2 3rd level feats before switching or 1 feat per level?
@@milanmarkovic2721 i don't really understand you question. can you explain it in a bit more detail?
How's clinging ice bad? It does half of ray of frost and half of tanglefoot... In one action. That is huge since it lets you cast a spell or even ray of frost if you want to play an Ice witch and double down. All hex cantrips are pretty good because of the action economy alone
very true
Hi, 8 months late to the show, but Needle of Vengeance's saving throw is crystal clear. It's a basic saving throw, and as per the CRB, any basic saving throw is double damage on crit fail, full on fail, half on success, and nothing on crit success.
There's just no extra effects to elaborate on beyond the damage. :)
Human Fate witch with the fortune teller background. I took medicine and the cauldron feats to really be a support witch.
I like that taste a bit like a warlok, but it's different in game. That awesome
The seven dislikes are Eldritch Horrors who don't want the dark secrets of their servants revealed to the public.
So my witch player used Personal Blizzard during the playtest (back when you could get it earlier). The concealment effect is absolutely worth it against a boss. Your players will make far more attacks than a boss will, so even though everyone has the same DC 11 flat check, your players will succeed more often than the boss thanks to more opportunities to attack.
Additionally the Cat's Eye Elixir (in core!) reduces the DC of a flat check due to concealment to a DC 5. IT is incredibly cheap to make and my witch has been crafting these as fast as possible. Pop them against a boss and inflict Personal Blizzard. The boss will be vastly less dangerous.
Clinging ice is a SOMATIC only cantrip that can buff another spell that causes movement penalties. ITS A COMBO CANTRIP to add more field control.
I love evil eye. I will use it every time.
Blood Ward doesnt mention Humanoid. Does that mean what I think it means?
I think it'd be cool to homebrew the nails as an upgraded version of the hair so you could keep the hair going and be eldritch mage bobobo whipping people with nose hairs and cursing them on impact while being buffed by rune engraved nose rings...
24:20 I caught an oopsie (but it's okay, it happens
I don't know if anyone else said this but Lost Omens Legends has Baba Yaga as a patron.
Baba Yaga (Rare Witch Patron)
Baba Yaga teaches you how to transfer spirits into objects and freeze your foes.
Spell List occult
Patron Skill Occultism
Hex Cantrip spirit object
Granted Spell chilling spray (Advanced Player’s Guide 217)
a run down on how this one worked was literally why i came to this video hahaha
Counterspell video’s not in the corner nonat 19:00
I ADORE witch in 1E, but haven't made the full jump to 2E yet (my group is determined to play through every single 1E adventure path). Have you ever/would you ever compare and contrast how each class works in both editions?
Question, does a magus spell attack or whatever the is trigger opportunity attacks? If not, I would give the witch the free hex with no opportunity attack
one thing with Cackle you do not have "manipulations" or "consentrations" trait so unless some espesific thing you do not generate any attack of oportunity (or how ever the class call it)
Also if the persistan damage end with the spell that mean.. the target suffer the persistan damage and have they flat DC to get rid of... but in the second you stop sustained the damage will end and not in their turn after dealing damage
Viewer: So which class is today's video?
Nonat: Witch.
Viewer: That's what I'm asking.
Nonat: Witch.
Viewer: Sigh, which CLASS?
Nonat: Yeah, witch class.
Viewer: That's what I'm asking you!
The fact that no one has appreciated this Abbot and Castello bit in a year breaks my heart
i really like the comb when you hit with your nails and then deal a free action hex spell. But do Witches have spells or feats or something to actually go into the first line without instantly being killed? can someone help me with that?
Curse of Death doesn't have the Incapacitation trait. Very important.
Me trying to find an actual class on witchcraft and finding this.
If it's any consolation, some religions consider Tabletop Roleplaying to be witchcraft lol.
I’m new to the witch and familiars. The Witch lessons that give familiars a spell…does that mean it’s just added to your repertoire? Familiars don’t actually cast spells, right? I know they can deliver touch spells. Just a little confused by the wording.
with the WortWitch Feat, you can't be ambushed in a woodland area anymore with that one. granted useless in other locations, but pretty damn good combo with say a druid or ranger class
Currently playing an Elf changeling rune witch with amnesia. Her familiar is an Aeon Wyrd - proving to be quite entertaining.
I'd rule that they don't get the AoO. The attack in this case is the somatic component. The real problem is that this only works with 2 Hexes: Curse of Death and Glacial Heart. By default anyway. I house ruled that a Witch that's psychotic enough to get into melee can use any Hex or possibly even Touch Spell with Eldritch nails.
Witches have almost a Zatch Bell vibe
Some lower level potions are good, but I agree that the 6 levels restrictions is a bit hard. Maybe reduce it to 4 levels lower than your own once you hit master prof, and then 2 levels lower when the witch is legendary with their specific skill?
Alchemists can brew potions too! But with a 18th level feat and capped at 9th level potions.
Yes! Finally!
On the nails, do you make magi take atks of opp every time they channel a spell through a weapon atk?
Before the APG came out I was tinkering with a Hag Sorcerer with Alchemist Dedication. The APG made everything so much easier.
I’m in a critiquing mood... apologies....
Erm... Clinging ice also Heightens (+1) +1d4. The thing is it combines Tanglefoot and Ray of Frost.
No Counterspell popup. XD
Rites of Convocation: take out the parenthses (such as [etc]), and it reads: “Choose one Summon spell that appears on the spell list of your spell casting tradition.” So it must come from your spell list.
Loved the retakes. All i got. XD
Was actually about to pick a Wizard with a Witch Archetype for a one-shot coming up soon... but thanks to this video, I think I'm now going to go Witch with a Wizard archetype instead :P
I know it is late but for theme I would stick to Wizard with either witch or Lore oracle dedication feat or Investigator with any prepared caster dedication feat.
Great video like always. I'm now more interested to try an old concept. Sometime ago I had the idea to play a man who was a genetic chimera ... and the magical witch powers would not actually be his, but those of his unborn twin sister whose body was absorbed into his in their mother's womb. Because her underdeveloped magical consciousness would sometimes usurp control this would obviously be a Curse witch/warlock (sis casting Evil Eye on anyone who gets too close to what's HERS) with the Haunted background. Living Hair could be sis messing with brother's hair sometimes ...
But is it just me or is Eldritch Nails VERY bad? It's a physical attack which Witches aren't good at, strength-based which is likely your dump stat and I'm not sure if you would lose your hex/focus point if you don't hit with the attack (which would be AWFUL, and I think that is how it is intended) or if it simply stays in your nails until you hit (which would be okay and probably my houserule). I think I would give Eldritch Nails +2 to unarmed attacks with the nails, finesse and if you miss with the attack, I'd consider letting the witch not lose the Hex, if she spends an action to keep it in her nails until the end of her next turn.
probably op, but I'd have made them intelligence weapons (kinda like hexblades in 5e, maybe even int to damage)
Would you say a patron that isn’t satisfied or is actively opposed by the witch could cut off or affect their casting, perhaps similar to anathema?
0:17 Nonat1 lied as naturally as he breathed
In all seriousness, I liked that Like and Subscribe joke in the intro.
I legitimately forgot I edited that it's been so long lol. I'm damn proud of it! 😂
5:25 well, now they do cite two specific witches: Baba Yaga and Mosquito Witch
I wanna see if I can at least somewhat remake my 1e Calistria-worshipping Seducer Witch. I somehow managed to get a +50 non-magical bonus to all Diplomacy checks, and when combining my spells and hexes I could get functionally over +100. Seducer isn't an option in 2e, but witches are practically built for RP like that, so I'll have to play around!
so is the witch class is pathfinders counterpart to the dnd warlock class?
I wouldn't give an attack of opportunity personally. It would feel like my ruling makes the feat viable or not, by default I'd say reward the player for taking the feat.
I got to 0:13 before asking, "Which class? What you mean?" lol
Can someone please explain to me why Nudge Fate has a Will save? Is it not supposed to be a beneficial spell/buff on an ally? Why would it require them to make a save against your spell in order to gain the effect? I don't get it.
Personal blizzard target still makes the flat checks sadly.
It is still persistent dmg so it's rule still apply. However you can still sustain it for the concealed condition.
4x still in one comment.
My engrish gutto engrish
Can you take the living hair thing as a Kobold?
Oh oh oh curse of death on a dhampir? Or negative heal ect for strong negative healing?
Haven't played one yet, still learning Pathfinder here, but man the Hex selections just seem super weak and lackluster, and you don't get many slots per day. The Feat options are so robust that there's a million ways to build this, but the guts of it seem like they hold it back.
Shroud of Night on your favorite Kobold :O They'd be willing and wouldn't that cantrip then protect them from their light sensitivity ? Hmm....
Herbalist archtype and witch?
I think Clinging Ice is better than you're giving it credit for. Even without sustaining, it's still a 1-action, scaling d4 that imposes a speed penalty until the start of your turn. Unlike Tanglefoot, they also don't have the option to attempt an Escape - they're just stuck with the speed penalty. And sure, Ray of Frost has a higher range and (slightly) higher damage, but it's also a 2-action spell with the attack trait that only debuffs on a crit and has no effect on a miss. For me, Clinging Ice is the default 3rd action when fighting a mob.
I thought the max was 3 focus points, is witch able to do 5?
Also there is a small witch supplement in lost omens legends :3 could have included it here too
Stoke the heart gets pretty nutty with a ranger later on...
Fate Witch, your Patron is a Wizard running a Pyramid Scheme
One thing about clinging ice: it's one action, not two actions like every damaging cantrip
I got a d&d beyond ad before this lol