Witch

A witch is a magic user (usually female) which is a common archetype in most fantasy settings and old myths. They can fit into one of two broad groups; either being sizzling seductive beauties that will kill you as much as kiss you (the sexy option) or hunched, crackling old cronies who are like your grandma except the insane kind who might use you in a soup (the scary option). There is rarely a middle ground between the two, the old myths and even modern perceptions tending to either group sexy and power together or keep them separate, though it is frequent for one kind to pretend to be the other.

Witches are usually aligned with the dark forces, summoning demons, making curses and hexes, etc. They can be mysterious and wise and have familiars from cats and snakes to lesser demons. They also tend to fly around on broomsticks (God knows why) and harbour their magic instead of using it to live the cushy life (again, only God knows why).

Traditional gaming has allowed witches to flourish anew in a variety of new forms and identities, examples of which are given below:

Warhammer Fantasy

There is a whole host of witches within Warhammer fantasy, scattered over all the different races of the Warhammer world. Mostly the term seems to apply to any sorcerer or mage who hasn’t had formal training, being a rustic magic user or in the terms given above for old crackling hags or dark seductresses. The most famous ‘witch’ in this setting is the Witch-King Malekith of the Dark Elves, although his mother is the more the perfect example of the archetype….

Warhammer 40,000

Witch in the 40,000 universe is mostly heard when an Imperial preacher or Inquisitor shouts ‘it’s a witch!’ to explain any unexplainable events caused by a person, even if they are completely blameless. The Imperium almost uses it like a swearword to label any psyker regardless of race as such. Chaos magicians and psykers are almost always called witches when the Imperium sees them and these fun loonies seem to have no trouble accepting the term.

The Dark Eldar have ‘wyches’, although these are not female magic users. These wyches are barely clothed (except for leather straps), gorgeous gladiators that fight for the amusement of the audience and to get a kick out of dominating men by removing their body parts a piece at a time (so basically the sexy witch version minus the magic). To counter the sexism accusations in the most recent Dark Eldar codex it is mentioned there are male wyches but they are kept as breeding stock. So yeah, way to shoot yourself in the foot GW. This is mostly because female Dark Eldar for some reason can take more combat drugs than males without ODing, which gives them a considerable edge in the gladiatorial fights. (That, and they're naturally more graceful and acrobatic, among other things, such as attractiveness and the fact that most of the males sign up as Beastmasters instead.)

Dungeons & Dragons

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons included a witch as a kit (borderline variant class) for the Wizard in the Complete Wizard's Handbook.

Description: The Witch is a wizard whose powerful magical abilities are extraplanar in origin. Though wizards typically learn the basics of spellcasting at magic academies or from learned mentors, Witches learn magical skills from entities and their minions from other planes of existence, or from other Witches. Occasionally, these extraplanar entities contact youthful humans or demihumans for magical instruction; other times, humans and demihumans seek out the entities through arcane rituals and petition them for instruction. The entities agree to such instruction for a variety of reasons-- some hope to train their students to eventually become emissaries; some hope to use them as conduits for various forces; some hope to seduce them as consorts; and some simply share their magical secrets for their own amusement. Whatever the motives of the extraplanar entities, they exude a powerful directing influence over their students. However, a few Witches with particularly strong wills are able to maintain their own drives while using their magical skills to further their own goals. Such Witches face a life-long struggle with the forces who relentlessly strive to direct their spirits. The requirements for becoming a Witch are higher than for any other kit. Because her training is more demanding than that received by most other wizards, she must have a minimum Intelligence and Wisdom of 13. To resist the corruption inherent from contact with extraplanar entities, she must have a minimum Constitution of 13. The vast majority of Witches are female, but male Witches are also possible, commonly called Warlocks. The Witch kit cannot be abandoned. If a Witch manages to sever all ties with the entities responsible for her instruction (usually requiring the power of a wish or its equivalent), she loses two experience levels. If she still wishes to pursue a magical career, she must relearn the experience levels that she lost.

Preferred Schools: The most appropriate school for Witches is enchantment/charm. Conjuration/summoning and necromancy are also good choices.

Barred Schools: There are no barred schools for Witches.

Role: Regardless of her actual alignment, all but her closest friends are likely to presume that a Witch is in collaboration with extraplanar spirits, and will shun her accordingly. There are few places where a Witch is welcome, and for the most part, a Witch will need to conceal her identity when traveling to assure her safety. A Witch's player character companions need not have such fears or prejudices against her, especially after she proves herself in life-and-death situations. However, there might always be a veil of suspicion between the Witch and her companions, as if they cannot quite bring themselves to trust her completely. Any player characters with suspicious natures, particularly those with primitive or unsophisticated backgrounds, may never fully warm up to a Witch and will avoid being alone with her, sometimes even accusing her of betraying the party or bringing them bad luck. (The DM is free to encourage this type of role-playing, but not to the point of disrupting the campaign. If this distrust becomes problematic, the DM might remind the PC leader of the party that the Witch is indeed a good-aligned character and it is his job to promote good will among his companions.) Although a Witch learns her magical techniques from extraplanar entities, once on her own, she learns her spells in much the same way as any other wizard. Still, her techniques for casting spells may differ significantly from the standard methods. The casting times, ranges, and effects of her spells are no different from the same spells used by other wizards, but she may use different verbal, somatic, or material components, as well as meditation. These differences should make her seem even more threatening to outsiders, as well as making her seem more remote to the other player characters.

Secondary Skills: Required: None. Recommended: Scribe.

Weapon Proficiency: The Witch is not allowed an initial Weapon Proficiency, nor can she acquire a Weapon Proficiency as she advances in level.

Nonweapon Proficiency: Bonus Proficiencies: Herbalism, Spellcasting. Recommended: (General) Artistic Ability, Brewing, Cooking, Languages (Modern), Weather Sense; (Wizard) Ancient History, Astrology, Languages (Ancient), Reading/Writing, Religion; (Priest, double slot) Healing.

Equipment: When a Witch is first created, she must buy her weapons from among the following choices: Dagger or dirk, knife, sling, staff sling. Additionally, the Witch can choose up to 1,500 gp worth of magical items from Table 89 (Potions and Oils), Table 91 (Rings), Table 92 (Rods), Table 93 (Staves), Table 94 (Wands), and Tables 95- 103 (Miscellaneous Magic) on pages 135-139 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. These items are free-- she doesn't have to pay for them (but she cannot keep any of the leftover 1,500 gp).

Special Benefits: When a Witch is initially created, she automatically gains the spells detect magic and read magic; these spells are in addition to any spells she normally receives. As a Witch increases in level, she automatically gains the following abilities. These are all naturally acquired abilities, and do not count against the number of spells she can know or use. All of the following abilities can be used once per week.

• 3rd Level: The Witch acquires the ability to secure familiar. This is identical to the 1st-level wizard spell find familiar, except that a Witch does not need to burn 1,000 gp worth of incense and herbs in a brass brazier. Instead, the Witch must merely concentrate for one turn. If a suitable familiar is within 1 mile per level of the Witch, it will arrive within 1d10 hours. A Witch can have only one familiar at a time.
• 5th Level: The Witch acquires the ability to brew calmative. Assuming she has access to the proper ingredients (usually available in any forest), the Witch can brew one dose of an elixir that has the effect of a sleep spell when a victim comes in contact with it. One dose is sufficient to coat a sword or any other single weapon. The elixir has no effect on victims with more than 8 HD; victims can resist the effects of the elixir with a successful saving throw.

The Witch requires one hour to brew the elixir. The elixir loses its potency after 24 hours.

• 7th Level: The Witch acquires the ability to brew poison. With the proper ingredients, available in most forests, she can brew one dose of Class L contact poison sufficient to coat a single weapon. The Witch requires one hour to brew the poison. It loses its potency in 24 hours.
• 9th Level: The Witch acquires the ability to beguile any single person or monster (assuming the person is no higher than 8th-level or the monster has no more than 8 HD). Beguile is identical to the 4th-level wizard spell charm monster and the 1st-level wizard spell charm person, except that the victim is not allowed a saving throw. To cast beguile, the Witch must merely point at the victim and concentrate for 1 round; there are no verbal or material components.
• 11th Level: The Witch acquires the ability to brew flying ointment. Assuming she has access to the proper ingredients (usually available in any forest), the Witch can brew one dose of an ointment which, when rubbed on the skin, gives the recipient the ability to fly, as per the 3rd-level wizard spell fly. The dose is sufficient to affect one human-sized subject; the effects persist until the ointment loses its potency 24 hours after it is brewed. The Witch requires one hour to brew the ointment.
• 13th Level: The Witch acquires the ability to inflict a witch's curse on any single person or creature. This is exactly identical to the 4th-level wizard spell bestow curse, except that its effect is automatic; the victim is not allowed a saving throw. The effect of the curse persists for 24 hours unless the curse is dispelled by a remove curse, wish, or similar spell. To cast the spell, the Witch must merely point at the victim and concentrate for 1 round; no verbal or material components are required. To determine the effects of witch's curse, roll 1d8 and consult Table 8.

Table 8: Effects of Witch's Curse

• 1-3: Roll a d6; the ability corresponding to the number rolled (count from top, so Strength = 1 and Charisma = 6) is reduced by 3 points.
• 4-5: The victim's "to hit" and damage rolls suffer a -4 penalty.
• 6: Victim is blinded for 24 hours or until Dispel Magic is cast.
• 7: The victim loses 1 hit point per hour for the next 24 hours. These lost hit points cannot be recovered by normal or magical means until the witch's curse ends in 24 hours or unless the curse is dispelled. If the victim is reduced to 0 hit points or less within 24 hours of receiving the curse, or before the curse is dispelled, he dies.
• 8: The victim immediately lapses into a state of temporal stasis, as per the 9th-level wizard spell. The effect persists unless the curse is dispelled. Otherwise, at the end of 24 hours, the victim is reduced to 0 hit points and dies.

Special Hindrances: Because of their non-conventional training, Witches do not earn bonuses to their experience for high ability scores. Witches cannot be multi-classed or dual-classed. Generally, outsiders are terrified of Witches. Unless an NPC is exceptionally open-minded or has extremely high Intelligence or Wisdom (13 or more in either ability), the Witch receives a -3 reaction roll. If the NPC is uneducated, comes from an extremely superstitious or unsophisticated culture, or has low Intelligence and Wisdom (under 10 for both), the Witch receives a -5 reaction roll. Additionally, if a Witch lingers in a superstitious or culturally unsophisticated community for more than a day, she runs the risk of facing a mob of hostile citizens bent on running her out of town, imprisoning her, torturing her, or executing her. (The DM decides the size of the mob, their intentions, and the likelihood of their accosting the Witch. As a rule of thumb, assume a 20 percent chance of a 4d6-member mob forming in a hostile community if the Witch stays for a day. This chance increases by 20 percent for every additional day the Witch remains; the size of the mob increases by 2d6 members.) The Witch must periodically struggle with the extraplanar forces striving to direct her. The forces are so powerful that they cannot be dispelled; all the Witch can do is endure them. When undergoing these internal struggles, the Witch suffers penalties to her combat abilities and saving throws. The DM has three options for determining the frequency and intensity of these penalties, depending on the needs of his campaign and how much bookkeeping he is willing to undertake:

• 1. The Witch suffers a -2 penalty to her attack rolls and a -2 penalty to her saving throws on any night with a full moon and the three nights before and after the full moon (the penalties apply to a 12 hour period from about 6 p. m. to 6 a. m. ). On most worlds, a full moon will occur about once per month; if the moon of the DM's world has a shorter or longer cycle, increase or decrease the number of nights the Witch is affected; she should be affected about seven nights out of 4 weeks. If there are several moons, the Witch is affected by only one of them.
• 2. There is a 25 percent chance per day that the Witch will be subjected to an internal struggle with extraplanar forces. The DM determines this at the beginning of the day; the Witch is aware of the result. Throughout that night (a 12-hour period lasting from about 6 p. m. to 6 a. m.), the Witch suffers a -2 penalty to her attack rolls and a -2 penalty to her saving throws.
• 3. The Witch struggles with the extraplanar forces every night. For a 12- hour period lasting from about 6 p. m. to 6 a. m. , she suffers a -1 penalty to her attack throws; there is no penalty to her saving throws.

Wealth Options: The Witch receives the standard (1d4+1) x 10 gp as starting money.

Races: No racial restrictions.

Note: The Witch is among the most complex of all the kits, and many of the details are left up to the player's discretion. For instance, he may wish to design specific daily rituals for his Witch, or he may wish to expand on the Witch's relationship with the entities who originally trained her. What exactly are they? Where are they? Can the Witch contact them for favors? What exactly happens if the forces succeed in controlling the Witch? Does her alignment change? Her abilities? Her relationship to the party? There are many possible variations on the Witch kit, and the DM is encouraged to experiment, as long as he avoids the temptation to make her excessively powerful, and keeps in mind the potential disruptions in his campaign.

Pathfinder

Witches are offshoots of the Wizard class, based on one of the old wizard kits from the earliest editions of the game; as the Druid is to the Cleric, so is the Witch to the Wizard. They are essentially arcane spellcasters (so no armor) who have to prepare their spells in advance (so no spontaneous casting), but unlike the wizard, who can only use arcane magic, they have access to a broad spectrum of different kinds of spell, depending on the kind of witch they are, most of which are nature-ish in origin. The wizard is still more versatile, but the witch can do things wizards can't, like throw out heals and curses that are usually divine magic rather than arcane.

Witches also get access to various unique fairy-tale-style hexes, which range from making poison apples and debuffing your enemies, to making crops wither and grow, to letting your now-prehensile hair count as a new limb and flying. The coolest one is probably the one that makes all your hexes last longer so long as you burn a move action to cackle ominously. If one of your party members is playing an other-wise-OP-as-fuck merfolk, witches are the only way to supply them with potions of Fins to Feet so they don't slow everyone down.

Witches get familiars like wizards, but theirs store their spells like spellbooks. Most familiar are gifts from their "patrons," since most witches get their powers from making deals with mysterious natural forces. Like a warlock but without the Cthulhu. For this reason, they replenish their spells by "communing with their familiars," a phrase that is exactly as perverted as you want it to be. Everyone will hate you for the mental image, mind.

In the Advanced Class Guide released in 2014, a new class was released, the Shaman. Functions mostly like the witch, with its own unique hexes (and can take lower-level witch hexes), but with more emphasis on the familiar's attributes (in this case, called a spirit animal) and the spirits that affect it (similar to Oracle mysteries), as well as casting divine magic.

The Classes of Pathfinder 1st Edition
Core Classes:	Barbarian - Bard - Cleric - Druid - Fighter - Monk Paladin - Ranger - Rogue - Sorcerer - Wizard
Advanced Player's Guide:	Alchemist - Antipaladin - Cavalier Inquisitor - Oracle - Summoner - Witch
Advanced Class Guide:	Arcanist - Bloodrager - Brawler - Hunter - Investigator Shaman - Skald - Slayer - Swashbuckler - Warpriest
Occult Adventures:	Kineticist - Medium - Mesmerist Occultist - Psychic - Spiritualist
Ultimate X:	Gunslinger - Magus - Ninja - Samurai - Shifter - Vigilante