Monday, April 14, 2014

Debuffer Witch (Witch Build)

Debuffer Witch
Human Witch with the Insanity Patron
The Best Way to Drive your GM Crazy

Classic Witch who is heavily hex focused. She gets up Evil Eye, Misfortune, and cackles her way through slumber and the rest. She also has some healing powers and the fortune hex to help her buddies.


Attributes (with Racial Modifier)

Int>Dex>Con>Wis>Str>Cha

15 Point Buy
STR
: 7
DEX: 14
CON: 14
INT: 18 (16+2)
WIS: 13
CHA: 7

20 Point Buy
STR: 7
DEX: 14
CON: 14
INT: 20 (18+2)
WIS: 11
CHA: 7

25 Point Buy
STR: 7
DEX: 14
CON: 16
INT: 20 (18+2)
WIS: 11
CHA: 7

Traits

Reactionary: +2 to initiative
Indomitable Faith: +1 Will saves


Feats/Hexes

1: Extra Hex, Improved Initiative, Evil Eye, Cackle
2: Misfortune
3: Extra Hex: Fortune
4: Slumber
5: Accursed Hex
6: Flight
7: Combat Casting
8: Healing
9: Quicken Spell
10: Agony
11: Split Hex
12: Ice Tomb
13: Spell Penetration
14: Major Healing
15: Greater Spell Penetration
16: Ward
17: Dodge
18: Life Giver
19: Split Major Hex
20: Death Curse


Spells

Level 1:
Ill Omen: Which can be quickened, while Misfortune can not. Ill omen will allow you to pop Misfortune on.
Cure Light wounds
Mage Armor: Pretty Vital to staying alive

Level 2:
Cure Moderate Wounds
Glitterdust
Vomit Swarm
Web: For dealing with groups of enemies.
Level 3:
Ray of Exhaustion
Sleet Storm: For dealing with groups.
Stinking Cloud: For dealing with groups.
Summon Monster III

Level 4:
Black Tentacles: For dealing with groups.
Confusion: For dealing with groups.
Crushing Despair: For dealing with groups.
Dimensional Door
Summon Monster IV
Level 5:
Magic Jar

Level 6:
Raise Dead: For your buddies!

Level 7 - 9:
Grab the usual, focusing on area attacks.


Familiar

Let’s get a greensting scorpion for the initiative bonus.


Equipment

Grab the Cackling Hag’s Blouse. Only 6,000 and it allows you to use cackle as a swift action twice per day. Awesome for that second round of combat when you want to reposition. Beyond that, grab some intelligence boosting stuff! Ring of invisibility can be fun too, if you have already laid down your negative hexes and will spend the rest of combat cackling and healing your allies.


What the Build Looks Like at...
Assumes a 20 point buy and mundane gear.

Level 1: With Improved initiative, we are rocking a +12 initiative bonus. Evil Eye only has a DC of 15 for now, but Cackle can extend even a successful will save into a permanent penalty.

Level 4: Before combat, Fortune all your allies (and yourself), then cackle every turn to maintain it. That’s a free D20 re-roll for all! Evil Eye and Misfortune the enemy, then slumber - all have DC 17. We pretty much have our bread and butter for the rest of the show.

Level 8: The DC of our Hexes is now 20. We can fly, and heal our allies, and cast 3 level 4 spells.

Level 12: We get two great bonuses by level 12. Split Hex, which allows us to to target two creatures with our hexes. And Agony, which gives us nauseated in hex form. You know, the one that prevents enemies from taking standard actions. We’ve also got Ice tomb. DC 22.

Level 16: Major Healing and Ward give makes us more friends amongst the party. Casting 2 level 8 spells a day. DC for all Hexes is 25.

Level 20: Now we have reincarnate and Death Curse. All DCs are 27.


Tactics

You can fortune all of your allies, and yourself, before combat, then maintain it through combat with Cackle (Ward somebody at level 16 as well). You are excellent at debuffing - First turn, apply evil eye to saves (if you think you need to, second turn apply Misfortune. Then cackle away, and perhaps use slumber?

Hexes are great against single targets. What happens when you have a group of enemies? Time to rely on spells like web and Black Tentacles. Of course, you can still use fortune and Ward.

Also, we can heal without expending resources, which is very nice. It’s not too much healing, but it’s useful.

Guide to the Builds
Comprehensive Guide to the Guides

19 comments:

  1. Awesome Guide!!

    Quick Question: Where are the rules for the insanity patrol? I must be blind but I cannot find it.

    Thanks in advance!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No problem, here are the patrons: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/witch/witch-patrons

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  2. Would a ratfolk be considered a good alternative for this build?

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, ratfolk's a good choice! Nice survivability with the Dex and small size, and the Int bonus is just what we want. Consider the Cornered Fury, Lab Rat, and Unnatural alternate racial traits!

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  3. How would a Bloodmarked fare as an alternative for this build?

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    Replies
    1. Sure thing, though you miss out on the fast out-of-the-gate start with the extra feat.

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  4. How can you fortune all of your allies before combat? I think some GMs would have problems with trying to use a 1 round duration spell on the whole party before the fight and have it last through rolling initiative. It should only last 6 seconds, right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry one more thing. It also says under level 2 tactics to do this before each combat. It looks like this can only be used once per day per creature.

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    2. Cackle, my friend, cackle. Each fortune lasts until you stop cackling.

      The tactics say "Before combat" not before "each"combat. Do it when you can before combat.

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    3. Hi,

      OK, but if you cackle all the time (1 round being 6 sec, means you have to cackle every 6 sec) and cackle being a movement action, you won't do much in the adventure except cackling at your starting point, no ? :D

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    4. You can move around with your standard action. You'll be a little slow, but should have no problem. In combat you'll have to stand still, as you use your standard action to cast spells or hexes while still cackling.

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    5. Hi again,

      I think you should consider having a mount, so you'd save the movement action for cackle and still be able to move. What you think of that ?

      Delete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Under the section "What the Build Looks Like... at level 8" can you please clarify where the ability to fly comes from? Thanks :)

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  7. What archetype did you choose?

    ReplyDelete