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Witch

You command powerful magic, not through study or devotion to any ideal, but as a vessel or agent for a mysterious, otherworldly Patron that even you don't entirely understand. This entity might be a covert divinity, a powerful fey, a manifestation of natural energies, an ancient spirit, or any other mighty supernatural being - but its Nature is likely as much a Mystery to you as it is to anyone else. Through a special familiar, your patron grants you versatile spells and powerful Hexes to use as you see fit, though you're never certain if these gifts will end up serving your patron's larger plan.

Key Ability: Intelligence
At 1st level, your class gives you an ability bonus to Intelligence

Hit Points: plus your Constitution modifier
You increase your maximum number of HP by this number at 1st level and every level thereafter.

DURING COMBAT ENCOUNTERS...

You cast spells to change the course of battle. You use magical hexes to hamper enemies and aid allies, while leveraging more powerful spells to control the battlefield, heal, or harm, aided by your extraordinary familiar, brewed potions, and magical items.

DURING SOCIAL ENCOUNTERS...

You provide knowledge on numerous topics, including a variety of magical matters, and you might call upon your patron's magic to charm or deceive others.

WHILE EXPLORING...

You remain alert for magical traps and treasures, employing a clever array of spells to overcome obstacles that stand in your way. Your familiar might aid you through its own considerable set of exceptional abilities.

IN DOWNTIME...

You brew potions, craft other magical items, or hunt for new spells for your familiar to learn. You might try to learn more about your patron, their aims, or your own powers, and you might seek out the company of other witches for collaboration or community.

YOU MIGHT...

Strive to learn more about your patron or familiar, your patron's goals, why they chose to empower you, and how you fit into their plans.
Seek out new sources of magic, like scrolls and spellbooks, to supplement the spells your patron provides.
View your familiar as a steadfast ally, a dear friend, or a necessary nuisance, depending on its personality.

OTHERS PROBABLY...

Wonder about the [skill|nature|nature] of your [witch|patron|patron] and the source of your magic, worrying you'll turn on them or that you unknowingly serve to a foul power.
Appreciate your ability to [action|aid|aid] them with magic, whether you do so by helping them directly or by hampering their adversaries.
Take care not to offend you, fearful that you'll place a malicious [witch|hex|hex] on them if you're angered.

At 1st level, you gain the listed proficiency ranks in the following statistics. You are untrained in anything not listed unless you gain a better proficiency rank in some other way.

PERCEPTION

Trained in Perception

SAVING THROWS

Trained in Fortitude
Trained in Reflex
Expert in Will

SKILLS

Trained in one skill determined by your Patron
Trained in a number of additional skills equal to 3 plus your Intelligence modifier

ATTACKS

Trained in simple weapons
Trained in unarmed attacks

DEFENSES

Untrained in all armor
Trained in unarmored defense

SPELLS

Trained in spell attack rolls of your spellcasting tradition, determined by your first lesson
Trained in spell DCs of your spellcasting tradition, determined by your first lesson

You gain these features as an . Abilities gained at higher levels list the levels at which you gain them next to the features' names.

Ancestry and Backgrounds

In addition to the abilities provided by your class at 1st level, you have the benefits of your selected ancestry and background, as described here.

Initial Proficiencies

At 1st level, you gain a number of proficiencies that represent your basic training. These proficiencies are noted at the start of this class.

In Service to the Unknown

A witch's patron is a mysterious entity, rarely known or understood even by the witch in that patron's service. The nature of the relationship between a witch and their patron can serve as details for character development and storytelling. When playing a witch, work with your GM to determine the nature of your patron and how much of that nature you know, both as a player and a character. There are countless ways to handle a witch's patron; the following are just a few approaches you might take.

For a character who truly doesn't know their patron, you might have your GM choose your patron's theme and which lessons your witch learns, as the patron determines what powers to bestow upon you as their emissary—and these can provide clues to your patron's nature. You could instead give your GM a list of lessons you'd like for your character and let the GM choose between them, representing a negotiation between your witch and the patron. In this case, you might choose your patron's theme to indicate which aspect of the patron relates to your character, or let your GM choose the theme. If you want to be fully in control of your abilities, you can choose the lessons you most prefer and let the GM tailor the identity of your patron accordingly.

Another approach is for you to craft the details of your witch's patron yourself. You can then provide those details to the GM to incorporate into a larger narrative or to provide additional flavor and roleplaying context for your character. Your character might still remain ignorant of that patron's identity, even if you as a player know it. Perhaps your character knows the nature of their patron but is cursed to never reveal it to others. You might have willingly sworn a pact to your patron but fear the repercussions should others learn of that pact. Or perhaps you and your patron are entirely forthcoming about your relationship.

Every witch is different, and no story is wrong so long as it's fun and engaging for everyone involved!

Key Terms

You'll see these key terms in many witch class features.

Hex: A hex is a short-term effect generated on the fly from your patron's magic, requiring your familiar to draw from your patron. As such, you can cast only one spell with the hex trait each turn; attempts to cast a second hex spell on the same turn fail and the spellcasting actions are lost.

Metamagic: Actions with the metamagic trait tweak the properties of your spells. These actions usually come from metamagic feats. You must use a metamagic action directly before Casting the Spell you want to alter. If you use any action (including free actions and reactions) other than Cast a Spell directly after, you waste the benefits of the metamagic action. Any additional effects added by a metamagic action are part of the spell's effect, not of the metamagic action itself.

Your Level	Class Features
1	Ancestry and background, initial proficiencies, patron, familiar, witch spellcasting, hexes
2	Skill feat, witch feat
3	2nd-level spells, general feat, skill increase
4	Skill feat, witch feat
5	3rd-level spells, ability boosts, ancestry feat, magical fortitude, skill increase
6	Familiar ability, skill feat, witch feat
7	4th-level spells, expert spellcaster, general feat, skill increase
8	Skill feat, witch feat
9	5th-level spells, ancestry feat, lightning reflexes, skill increase
10	Ability boosts, skill feat, witch feat
11	6th-level spells, alertness, general feat, skill increase, weapon expertise
12	Familiar ability, skill feat, witch feat
13	7th-level spells, ancestry feat, defensive robes, skill increase, weapon specialization
14	Skill feat, witch feat
15	8th-level spells, ability boosts, general feat, master spellcaster, skill increase
16	Skill feat, witch feat
17	9th-level spells, ancestry feat, resolve, skill increase
18	Familiar ability, skill feat, witch feat
19	General feat, legendary spellcaster, patron’s gift, skill increase
20	Ability boosts, skill feat, witch feat

Your Level	Cantrips	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
1	5	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2	5	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3	5	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4	5	3	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5	5	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	5	3	3	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
7	5	3	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
8	5	3	3	3	3	—	—	—	—	—	—
9	5	3	3	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—
10	5	3	3	3	3	3	—	—	—	—	—
11	5	3	3	3	3	3	2	—	—	—	—
12	5	3	3	3	3	3	3	—	—	—	—
13	5	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	—	—	—
14	5	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	—	—	—
15	5	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	—	—
16	5	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	—	—
17	5	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	—
18	5	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	—
19	5	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	1*
20	5	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	1*
* The patron conduit class feature gives you a 10th-level spell slot that works a bit differently from other spell slots.

Familiar

Your patron has sent you a familiar, a mystical creature that teaches you and facilitates your spells. This familiar follows the rules here, though as it's a direct conduit between you and your patron, it's more powerful than other familiars. Your familiar gains an extra familiar ability, and gains another extra ability at 6th, 12th, and 18th levels.

Your familiar is the source and repository of the spells your patron has bestowed upon you, and you must commune with your familiar to prepare your spells each day using your witch spellcasting. Your familiar starts off knowing 10 cantrips, five 1stlevel spells, and one additional spell determined by your patron's theme. You choose these spells from the common spells of the tradition determined by your patron or from other spells of that tradition you gain access to.

Each time you gain a level, your patron teaches your familiar two new spells of any level you can cast, chosen from common spells of your tradition or others you gain access to. Feats can also grant your familiar additional spells.

Your familiar can learn new spells independently of your patron. It can learn any spell on your tradition's spell list by physically consuming a scroll of that spell in a process that takes 1 hour. You can use the Learn a Spell exploration activity to prepare a special written version of a spell, which your familiar can consume as if it were a scroll. You and your familiar can use the Learn a Spell activity to teach your familiar a spell from another witch's familiar. Both familiars must be present for the entirety of the activity, the spell must be on your spellcasting tradition's spell list, and you must pay the usual cost for that activity, typically in the form of an offering to the other familiar's patron. You can't prepare spells from another witch's familiar.

If your familiar dies, your patron replaces it during your next daily preparations. The new familiar might be a duplicate or reincarnation of your former familiar or a new entity altogether, but it knows the same spells your former familiar knew regardless. Your familiar's death doesn't affect any spells you have already prepared.

Hexes

Your patron and familiar teach you special spells called hexes. A hex is a short-term effect drawn directly from your patron's magic. As such, you can cast only one hex each turn; attempts to cast a second hex spell on that turn fail and the spellcasting actions are lost.

Hexes are a type of focus spell. It costs 1 Focus Point to cast a focus spell, and you start with a focus pool of 1 Focus Point. You refill your focus pool during your daily preparations, and you can regain 1 Focus Point by spending 10 minutes using the Refocus activity to commune with your familiar. Focus spells are automatically heightened to half your level rounded up.

Focus spells don't require spell slots, and you can't cast them using spell slots. Certain feats can give you more focus spells and increase the size of your focus pool, though your focus pool can never hold more than 3 Focus Points. The full rules for focus spells appear here.

You learn the phase familiar hex, which you can cast as a reaction to protect your familiar from harm. You learn most other hexes from witch lessons.

Hex Cantrips

Hex cantrips are special hexes that don't cost Focus Points, so you can cast them as often as you like, though you can still cast only one hex each round. Hex cantrips are in addition to the cantrips you choose with your witch spellcasting and aren't counted toward your prepared cantrips. Your hex cantrips are determined by your patron theme.

Witch Spellcasting

Using your familiar as a conduit, your patron provides you the power to cast spells. You can cast spells using the Cast a Spell activity, and you can supply material, somatic, and verbal components when casting spells.

At 1st level, you can prepare up to two 1st-level spells and five cantrips each morning from the spells your familiar knows. Prepared spells remain available to you until you cast them or until you prepare your spells again. The number of spells you can prepare is called your spell slots.

As you increase in level as a witch, your number of spell slots and the highest level of spells you can cast from spell slots increase, as shown in Table 2–7: Witch Spells per Day.

Some of your spells require you to attempt a spell attack roll to see how effective they are, or have your enemies roll against your spell DC (typically by attempting a saving throw). Since your key ability is Intelligence, your spell attack rolls and spell DCs use your Intelligence modifier.

Heightening Spells

When you get spell slots of 2nd level and higher, you can fill those slots with stronger versions of lower-level spells. This increases the spell's level to match the spell slot. You must have a spell in your spell repertoire at the level you want to cast in order to heighten it to that level. Many spells have specific improvements when they are heightened to certain levels. The signature spells class feature lets you heighten certain spells freely.

Cantrips

A cantrip is a special type of spell that doesn't use spell slots. You can cast a cantrip at will, any number of times per day. A cantrip is always automatically heightened to half your level rounded up—this is usually equal to the highest level of spell you can cast as a sorcerer. For example, as a 1st-level sorcerer, your cantrips are 1st-level spells, and as a 5th-level sorcerer, your cantrips are 3rd-level spells.

Patron

You weren't born with the power to cast spells, nor have you spent years in devotion to tomes, deities, or mystical secrets. Your power comes through a potent being that has chosen you as their vessel to carry forth some agenda in the world. This entity is typically mysterious and distant, revealing little of their identity and motivations, and they grant you spells and other magical powers through a familiar, which serves as a conduit for their power.

A patron might be a deity or demigod, a coven of powerful hags, a fey lord, an archdevil, or a similarly powerful entity, or perhaps multiple such figures working in tandem. As you gain more of your patron's power, you might learn more about who or what they are—certain combinations of themes and lessons suggest particular patrons or agendas—but patrons empower witches for their own secretive reasons, which they rarely reveal in full.

At 1st level, choose your patron's theme, which determines your spellcasting tradition, a skill, a special cantrip you gain, and a spell added to your familiar. The patron themes can be found here.

Skill FeatsLevel 2

At 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a skill feat. You must be trained or better in the corresponding skill to select a skill feat.

Witch FeatsLevel 2

At 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a witch class feat.

Skill IncreasesLevel 3

At 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you gain a skill increase. You can use this either to increase your proficiency rank to trained in one skill you're untrained in, or to increase your proficiency rank in one skill in which you're already trained to expert.

At 7th level, you can use skill increases to increase your proficiency rank to master in a skill in which you're already an expert, and at 15th level, you can use them to increase your proficiency rank to legendary in a skill in which you're already a master.

General FeatsLevel 3

At 3rd level and every 4 levels thereafter, you gain a general feat.

Ability BoostsLevel 5

At 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter, you boost four different ability scores. You can use these ability boosts to increase your ability scores above 18. Boosting an ability score increases it by 1 if it's already 18 or above, or by 2 if it starts out below 18.

Ancestry FeatsLevel 5

Magical FortitudeLevel 5

Your patron's power boosts your physical resiliency. Your proficiency rank for Fortitude saves increases to expert.

Expert SpellcasterLevel 7

You've learned to better control the power your patron has granted you. Your proficiency ranks for spell attacks and spell DCs for your witch spellcasting increase to expert.

Lightning ReflexesLevel 9

Your reflexes are lightning fast, helping you avoid danger. Your proficiency rank for Reflex saves increases to expert.

AlertnessLevel 11

You remain alert to threats around you. Your proficiency rank for Perception increases to expert.

Weapon ExpertiseLevel 11

Through sheer experience, you've improved your technique with your weapons. Your proficiency ranks for simple weapons and unarmed attacks increase to expert.

Defensive RobesLevel 13

The flow of magic through your spellcasting and your defensive training combine to help you get out of the way before an attack. Your proficiency rank in unarmored defense increases to expert.

Weapon SpecializationLevel 13

You can inflict greater injuries with the weapons you know. You deal 2 additional damage with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you are an expert. This damage increases to 3 if you're a master and 4 if you're legendary.

Master SpellcasterLevel 15

You've achieved mastery over your patron's magic. Your proficiency ranks for spell attacks and spell DCs for your witch spellcasting increase to master.

ResolveLevel 17

Communion with your familiar has steeled your mental fortitude. Your proficiency rank for Will saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Will save, you get a critical success instead.

Legendary SpellcasterLevel 19

You've perfected your command of the magic your patron provides. Your proficiency ranks for spell attacks and spell DCs for your witch spellcasting increase to legendary.

Patron’s GiftLevel 19

Your patron grants you the power to command incredible works of magic. You gain a single 10th-level spell slot and can prepare a spell in that slot using witch spellcasting. Unlike with other spell slots, these spell slots can't be used for abilities that let you cast spells without expending spell slots or abilities that give you more spell slots. You don't gain more 10th-level spells as you level up, though you can take the Patron's Truth feat to gain a second slot.

A witch's knowledge from their patron comes in the form of lessons, which you can learn by selecting feats like Basic Lesson. Each lesson grants you a hex and teaches your familiar a new spell, adding it to the spells you can prepare using your witch spellcasting. You gain this spell even if it's not on your tradition's spell list.

You can select from these lessons when a feat or another effect grants you a basic lesson.