Witch class is a term that refers to a specific type of character class in fantasy role-playing games, particularly in the Dungeons and Dragons series. In these games, players have the option to choose different classes for their characters, each with its own unique abilities, skills, and powers. The witch class is often associated with magic, spellcasting, and manipulation of arcane forces. Witches typically possess a wide range of magical abilities, allowing them to cast various spells, brew potions, and perform rituals. They are often depicted as mysterious and powerful spellcasters, with a deep understanding of the mystical arts. In some game systems, the witch class may also have access to familiar spirits, which are animal companions that aid them in their magical endeavors.
Witch Class
Witches are usually (but not always) women that specialize in ancient natural magic to heal, charm, or harm their enemies and allies alike. Using their superior intellect and calling on a Familiar to assist them, they are capable of astonishing feats of magical prowess. While Witches have a reputation for being cruel and evil, many of them are quiet, benign, and helpful to those around them. In either case, they tend to be shunned by polite society because of their unusual connection to nature and the magic within.
Most witches will learn from an older, more experienced witch, often in a secluded part of nature where their unorthodox casting methods will go unnoticed. However, some witches learn on their own through careful study. In the world of Calypso, most witches gain formal training at the Arcanum, though the covens of dread and black magic are highly restricted.
Creating a Witch
When creating your Witch, consider how you acquired your power. Were you instructed by another witch? Or maybe you discovered your power through careful study and evaluation. Perhaps you discovered a long-lost tome that gave you the basics of natural magic. Or you could have a natural talent for bending the forces of nature to your will.
Quick Build
You can build a Witch quickly by following these suggestions. First, Intelligence should be your highest ability score, followed by Constitution. Second, choose the Outlander background.
Class Features
As a Witch, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d6 per Witch Level
Hit points at 1st level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
Hit points at higher levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per Witch level after first.
Proficiencies
Armor: None
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: Alchemist’s Tools
Saving Throws: Intelligence; Wisdom
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Deception, Medicine, Nature, Perception, and Survival.
Multiclass: Simple weapons; Witches
require a score of 13 Intelligence.
Equipment
You start with the following equipment,
in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a quarterstaff, or (b) a dagger
- (a) a component pouch or (b) a spellcasting focus
- (a) a Dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an Explorer’s Pack
Spellcasting:
See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and chapter 11 for the witch spell list.
Cantrips At 1st level, you know two cantrips of your choice from the witch spell list. You learn additional witch cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Witch table.
Spell Slots The Witch table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these Witch spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. For example, if you know the 1st-level spell Fog Cloud and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast Fog Cloud using either slot.
Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the witch spell list. The Spells Known column of the Witch table shows when you learn more witch spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 3rd level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the witch spells you know and replace it with another spell from the witch spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
Spellcasting Ability Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your witch spells, since the power of your magic relies on your ability to interpret and coerce the forces of nature. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a witch spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Spellcasting Focus You can use an arcane focus (found in chapter 5) as a spellcasting focus for your witch spells.
Ritual Casting
You can cast a Witch spell that you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag.
Find Familiar
At 1st level, you gain the Find Familiar spell. This spell does not count against your total number of spells known.
Witch’s Coven
At 1st level, choose a magical specialization that you follow. You may choose Black Magic, Natural Magic, Dread Magic, or White Magic. Each specialization gives you features at 1st level, and again at 6th, 14th, and 18th level.
Coven Spells
Each Coven has a list of spells - Coven Spells - that you gain at the Witch levels noted in the Coven description. Once you gain a Coven spell, you always know it, and it doesn't count against your total number of spells known.
If you have a Coven spell that doesn't appear on the Witch spell list, the spell is nonetheless a Witch spell for you.
Craft Magic
In your study of natural magic, you have unearthed Craft Magics, fragments of knowledge that imbue you with an abiding magical ability.
At 2nd level, you gain three Crafts of your choice. Your craft options are detailed at the end of the class description.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the crafts you know and replace it with another craft of your choice.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Improved Find Familiar
By 7th level, your control over your Familiar
improves. You may now cast Find Familiar as an action.
Your familiar gains a bonus to its AC equal to your proficiency bonus, and a bonus to its hit points equal to twice your Witch level.
Additionally, as an action, you may allow your familiar to use its reaction to deliver a spell with any range, instead of only those spells with a range of touch. Your familiar must be within 60 feet of you to cast a spell with a range other than touch. Calculate the range of the spell using the familiar’s position. All other rules for casting via your familiar still apply.
Empowered Magic
At 10th level, your Craft Magic is empowered. You learn 2 additional Crafts of your choice. Additionally, as an action you may use your knowledge of nature and its power to inscribe an object with a rune, phrase, sigil, or other similar effect. When you use this feature you may choose whether the inscription is visible or not, and how it can be seen if it is not visible. You may also choose how long the inscription lasts, or if it is permanent.
Masterful Concentration
At 20th level, for up to 1 minute you can maintain two 'concentration' spells at once, so long as both spells are Witch spells, and at least one of the spells is of 2nd level or lower. While concentrating on two spells in this manner, if you take damage you make one concentration save for both spells. This save is made at disadvantage, and if you fail the save you lose both spells. Once you use this feature, you must finish a long rest before you may use it again.
Witch, Witch, You’re a Remastered Witch
It's October, and you know what that means—the leaves are falling, pumpkin spice floats on the wind, and the scourge known as candy corn is appearing on store shelves, and so I, James, am here to put on my pointy hat and talk about all things witchy coming in the Remaster!
Feiya the iconic witch and her familiar Daji. Art by Wayne Reynolds.
As we've mentioned in some of our past material, the witch was a class we were excited to put into the first book of the remaster, the Player Core. The witch is a really iconic fantasy theme with a ton of historical and cultural grounding, and a popular player archetype for many characters. Unfortunately, we were also aware that the witch class has not quite always done the best at living up to this fantasy. The Remaster sees the witch as one of the most heavily changed classes, in ways that aim both to increase the class’s overall power budget as well as to express the witch’s unique flavor in an evocative way.
In Pathfinder, the witch’s defining feature is their relationship with their familiar and their patron—the witch does not get power from study, or from inherent gifts, but as part of a bargain made with a mysterious patron entity, with a magical familiar there to both provide power and make sure the witch is advancing the patron’s agenda. To highlight the fact that the witch is the premier familiar user in the game, we’ve increased the capabilities of their familiar from its original version. Now, the witch’s familiar gains even more abilities, one of which is wholly unique to the patron. These unique familiar abilities both help to express the patron’s theme, and they generate a passive effect every time the witch Casts or Sustains one of their hex cantrips. For example, a familiar granted by the Silence in Snow patron is forever cold to the touch—it might be the color of ice or its breath might crystallize in the air—and so every time you cast your sustain one of your hex spells, frost will form next to your familiar, creating difficult terrain. Many of these abilities are strong, but have very short ranges from your familiar, so be sure to keep your little shadow cat or curséd raven safe with spells like phase familiar or patron’s puppet, which can help to shield them from damage or let them dart quickly in and out of safety.
We’ve taken advantage of the Remaster to also do some general quality of life changes to the witch and make their abilities a little easier to use. Many hex cantrips now no longer make enemies temporarily immune to their effects once cast, as we felt that having to sustain them and having the limit of 1 hex cantrip per turn (it turns out, your patron doesn't like being pestered for supernatural favors three times in a six-second window) was already enough of a limit for most abilities. We also expanded some hex cantrips that were overly narrow, like wilding word, which used to function only against animals, fungi, or plants, but now function against any creature, with animals, fungi, and plants being especially vulnerable to its effects. Between loosening these restrictions and the unique abilities from familiars that happen when you Cast or Sustain a hex cantrip, the witch should be seeing a fair bit of hexing during their turns.
But of course, as your witch grows in power, so too can your familiar, which can gain various special abilities through higher-level feats. Some of these feats let your patron themself manifest through your familiar, to spooky effect. For instance, the new Patron’s Presence feat directs your patron's baleful attention to the battlefield, partially disrupting the magic of other spellcasters.
Patron’s Presence — Feat 14
Witch
Your patron can direct its attention through your familiar, and its mere presence becomes an ominous weight on the minds of other beings to distract them and blot out their magic. Your familiar gains the following activity.
Patron’s Presence [two-actions] (aura) Frequency once per hour; Effect A palpable weight extends from your familiar in a 15-foot emanation. Enemies who enter or start their turn within the aura must succeed at a Will save against your spell DC or become stupefied 2 as long as they remain within the aura, or stupefied 3 on a critical failure. The aura lasts until the end of your next turn, but the familiar can Sustain it up to 1 minute.
Beyond some of these feats that lean on the Pathfinder side of witch mythology, we also wanted to go back to the rich folklore of witches worldwide and draw on this when we were giving witches new feats—and they’re getting quite a fair number of them! It would be remiss of me not to call out my very witchy colleagues Simone D. Sallé and Shay Snow, who drew on their deep knowledge of folk magic to suggest the seeds that grew into abilities like Ceremonial Knife, which allows a knife or dagger to direct magical energies like a magic wand; the new iron teeth Witch’s Armaments (supplementing eldritch nails and living hair); or Witch’s Broom, which lets you anoint a broom with flying ointments to transform it into a flying broomstick that you can ride through the night sky (this also works with a staff, polearm, or other broom-like object—not saying there are vacuum cleaners in Golarion, but I am saying the book gives you what you need to live your best Mary Sanderson life).
And with that, I think it's time for me to get into my Witch’s Hut and use its new Leap option to spin thrice and cast a 10 th -rank teleport away! Be careful not to get cursed out there, and keep your eyes of newt on this space for more Remaster news!
The shadow remains cast,
James Case (he / him)
Senior Designer
Witch Class Guide
Class guides are a rough explanation of the class, designed to give you an idea of the class and what you should be aiming for. You should really adapt the guide and follow your own instincts to match your play style!
I highly recommend looking at as many different sources as possible. The class discords are a great place to start, most have their own guides and resources as well as plenty of skilled players willing to help with questions.
The Witch class is the typical magic caster class with plenty of ranged AoE spells, slows, knock downs and stuns. Their main weapon is a staff, and their secondary weapon is a dagger. At level 56, Witch unlocks her awakening which is the Aad Sphera. This high damage dealing class also has a range of support skills which make them highly desirable for large scale PVP. The main difference between a Wizard and a Witch is that Wizard is more aggressive with burst damage and has a grab, whilst the Witch class has a buffing block and is played more defensively with higher range and more sustain DPS.
In some game systems, the witch class may also have access to familiar spirits, which are animal companions that aid them in their magical endeavors. These familiars can assist the witch in combat, provide additional magical abilities, or serve as sources of information and guidance. Witches are frequently portrayed as wielding a variety of elemental or elemental-themed spells, such as fire, ice, or lightning.
Awakening VS Succession
Witch Succession and Awakening can be unlocked after level 56 after speaking to the Black Spirit and completing the Awakening and Succession quests under the suggestions tab.
- The Awakening will unlock a completely new skill tree, which will be your primary skills from now on. The skills in the pre-awakening are mostly utility skills, and your main damage dealers will be your Awakening skills.
- The Succession skill kit enhances your staff skills instead and only has a few awakening skills.
Your awakening weapon still affects your succession damage and vice versa. For example, if you are using the Succession kit, then 30% of your Awakening AP is still applied to the damage of Succession skills, as well as the additional item stats on the awakening weapon, such as Human/Species Damage and Accuracy.
Succession tends to be better for PVP due to the lack of mobility that Awakening has and the fact it is more melee range focused, while Succession has much more mobility thanks to the use of the split teleport, and also has more ranged damage and CCs.
However, for PVE, it really depends on the spot. Both specs are obviously viable, but usually one will outperform the other. In some places where you need to move around a lot, succession can do much better because of the added mobility. It does better in spots where you can kill packs in one shot and quickly move on, and also has better single target DPS, making it better for spots like Gyfin Underground, and Elvia Quint Hill. Awakening on the other hand, has more protections and protected AOE damage, as well as higher accuracy. This means it is usually a more relaxed grind and a bit easier to play.
They may also possess spells that manipulate time, space, or shape reality itself. The exact abilities and spells available to witches can vary greatly depending on the specific game system or edition being used. In addition to their magical abilities, witches may also have unique skills and talents outside of spellcasting. For example, they may have heightened senses, the ability to communicate with animals or spirits, or have an affinity for certain mystical artifacts or locations. The witch class is often a popular choice for players who enjoy role-playing complex characters with a mysterious or dark persona. Many players are drawn to the allure of the arcane, the ability to wield powerful spells, and the potential for character growth and development. Overall, the witch class offers players the opportunity to become a formidable spellcaster, capable of shaping the world around them through the mastery of magic. With their broad range of magical abilities and unique skills, witches are a fascinating and often sought-after character class in fantasy role-playing games..
Reviews for "Witch Class vs Other Spellcasting Classes: A Comparison"
1. John - 2/5 - I was really looking forward to taking the Witch class, but I ended up being disappointed. The instructor seemed unprepared and didn't provide clear explanations or demonstrations of the spells. The course material also felt disorganized and it was hard to keep track of what we were supposed to be learning. Overall, I felt like I didn't gain much from the class and I wouldn't recommend it to others.
2. Emily - 1/5 - I signed up for the Witch class hoping to learn about the history and practices of witchcraft, but unfortunately, the class fell short. The instructor spent most of the time discussing their personal experiences instead of teaching us the fundamentals. It felt more like a therapy session for the instructor rather than an informative class. I was really disappointed and felt like I wasted my time and money.
3. Sarah - 2/5 - The Witch class was a complete letdown. The instructor seemed disinterested and didn't engage with the students. They simply read from a book without providing any additional insight or practical advice. I was hoping for hands-on experience and a deeper understanding of witchcraft, but instead, I got a boring lecture. I would not recommend this class to anyone who is serious about learning witchcraft.
4. Michael - 2/5 - The Witch class lacked structure and organization. It felt like the instructor was making up the curriculum as they went along. The class materials were also outdated and didn't align with current practices or beliefs. Additionally, the instructor didn't provide any guidance or individual attention to the students. Overall, it was a disappointing experience and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking to learn about witchcraft.