The Witch
The very first spellcasters were witches, mastering magic long before the first druids or wizards. Their magic is similarly ancient, though modern witches make some use of newer magics.
Witches have a familiar, a much more useful companion than that of other spell casters, able to be sent over vast distances and deliver messages or watch the witches enemies.
Creating a Witch
Consider how your character learned witchery. Did they learn from a coven, being taught by an older witch? Or did they discover witchery on their own, experimenting with potions and spells until they uncovered the ancient magic themselves? Also consider how they first encountered their familiar, was it a family pet who they turned into a familiar, or was the familiar discovered in the wilds whose discovery started their journey towards becoming a witch.
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 1st
Proficiencies
Armour: Light Armour
Weapons: Simple Weapons
Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
Skills: Chose two from Arcana, Acrobatics, Deception, Intimidation, Investigation, Perception, S tealth, Survival
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- any simple weapon
- a dagger
- (a) a component pouch or ( b ) an arcane focus
- (a) a set of bones, (b) tarot cards, or (c) other fortune telling implement worth up to 25 gp
- (a) an explorer's pack or (b) a scholar's pack
Spell Casting
Drawing on the ancient magics of the world, you can cast spells and rituals.
Cantrips
At first 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 show in the Cantrips Known column of the witch table.
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 Twitch 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 you learn your spells through experimentation and quick thinking. 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
Ritual Casting
You can cast a witch spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you know that spell.
Spellcasting Focus
You can use an arcane focus (found in chapter 5) as a spellcasting focus for your witch spells.
Improved Familiar
You know the find familiar spell, and can cast it without paying its material cost.
You can telepathically communicate with your familiar at any distance, and while you are seeing through its eyes and hearing through its ears you can magically project your voice through your familiar, speaking as if you were in its location.
You can touch your familiar as an action and regain one spell slot of fifth level or lower. You then cannot use this ability until you complete a long rest.
Potion Brewing
At 2nd level you gain proficiency with herbalism kits and potions of healing you create heal an additional 2d4 hit points on use.
Witchery Path
When you reach 3rd level, you chose a path of witchery to follow, dictating your specialization and focus towards certain types of magic. Your choice grants you features at 3rd, 6th, 11th, and 17th level, and are detailed later in this document.
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.
Witch of the Woods
At 20th level you gain a level of mastery over nature and your magic. You can speak to and understand all animals and plants, and they do their best to obey your commands. You always know what the weather will do up to a week in the future and you can cast any divination spells available to you without expending a spell slot.
Witchery Paths
There are as many different types of witchery as there are witches, but most can roughly be grouped into the following paths.
Blood Magic
When you select this path at 3rd level, you learn to drain the life force of your enemies. Whenever you reduce a living creature to 0 hit points, you gain temporary hit points equal to half your witch level + your intelligence modifier.
At level 6, you learn how to drain your own life force to empower your spells. Whenever you cast a spell, you can deal slashing damage to yourself equal to 1d8 per spell level (1d8 for cantrips) to empower the spell, causing one of the following effects:
- the spell duration is increased by 50% (if the spell has a duration of 1 round, round up)
- the spell deals an extra dice of damage or heals an extra dice of hit points
You must be holding a dagger or other bladed weapon to use this ability.
At level 11, your damaging spells are harder for creatures to resist. When a creature fails a save against one of your empowered spells, you ignore that creatures damage resistance for that spell, and if the creature has immunity to that damage, they instead only have resistance. In addition, you gain the following options for your empowered spells:
- if the spell targets a single creature, you can target an additional creature within 5 ft. of the original target.
- if the spell targets more than one creature with a saving throw, you can grant one of the targets disadvantage on the saving throw against the spell.
At level 17, your mastery of blood magic allows you to channel multiple effects at once. You can use as many empowerments as you like on a single spell, dealing damage to yourself for each effect.
Fortune Telling
When you select this path at 3rd level, whenever you cast a divination spell, you can either double its duration or range. In addition, you learn augury and this spell doesn't count against your spells known.
At level 6, you do not need any material components to cast divination spells aside from the items in your starting gear, and in addition, you can replace these on a long rest for free, as long as you have access to animal bones, wood to carve, or something similar.
At level 11, when casting a divination spell with a casting time of 1 minute, you can ask the DM for one sentence of clarification on any answer you receive from such a spell. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it until you complete a long rest.
At level 17, you gain true sight at all times, and can always tell if someone is lying to you.
Necromancy
When you select this path at 3rd level, you can cast animate dead once per long rest without expending a spell slot.
At level 6, any undead creatures you summon gain a number of hit points equal to your proficiency bonus + your intelligence modifier.
At level 11, whenever you cast a spell that summons undead, the spell counts as being cast at the highest level for which you have spell slots.
At level 17, whenever any undead creature under your control dies, you heal hit points equal to twice their challenge rating.
Potion Brewing
When you select this path at 3rd level, you can brew a single potion of healing per day, as long as you do not already have one that you brewed through this ability. This potion ceases to function if it is ever more than 60 ft. away from you and cannot be sold or traded.
At level 6, you learn to make potions of remove curse and can brew one of these instead of your potion of healing for the day.
At level 11, your healing potions heal twice as many hit points.
At level 17, you can create up to 3 potions using your potion brewing ability per day.
Witch
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | Cantrips Known | Spells Known | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Improved Familiar, Spellcasting | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | +2 | Potion Brewing | 2 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3rd | +2 | Witchery Path | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5th | +3 | ─ | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | _ | — | — | — |
| 6th | +3 | Witchery Path Feature | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7th | +3 | ─ | 3 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9th | +4 | ─ | 3 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 10th | +4 | ─ | 4 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 11th | +4 | Witchery Path Feature | 4 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 13th | +5 | ─ | 4 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| 14th | +5 | ─ | 4 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| 15th | +5 | ─ | 4 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 17th | +6 | Witchery Path Feature | 4 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 18th | +6 | ─ | 4 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 20th | +6 | Witch of the Woods | 4 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Witch Spell List
Cantrips
- Acid Splash
- Chill Touch
- Control Flames
- Create Bonfire
- Druidcraft
- Gust
- Infestation
- Light
- Magic Stone
- Mending
- Poison Spray
- Prestidigitation
- Produce Flame
- Shape Water
1st Level
- Animal Friendship
- Bane
- Beast Bond
- Bless
- Cause Fear
- Charm Person
- Command
- Cure Wounds
- Detect Magic
- Detect Poison and Disease
- Disguise Self
- Dissonant Whispers
- Faerie Fire
- Feather Fall
- Fog Cloud
- Goodberry
- Hex
- Indentify
- Inflict Wounds
- Ray of Sickness
- Sleep
- Snare
- Speak with Animals
- Tasha's Hideous Laughter
- Witch Bolt
2nd Level
- Alter Self
- Augury
- Barkskin
- Beast Sense
- Blindness/Deafness
- Crown of Madness
- Darkness
- Darkvision
- Detect Thoughts
- Earthbind
- Heat Metal
- Hold Person
- Invisibility
- Lesser Restoration
- Locate Animals or Plants
- Locate Object
- Misty Step
- Protection from Poison
- See Invisibility
- Silence
- Spider Climb
- Suggestion
3rd Level
- Animate Dead
- Bestow Curse
- Call Lightning
- Clairvoyance
- Conjure Animals
- Counterspell
- Dispell Magic
- Fear
- Feign Death
- Fly
- Haste
- Life Transference
- Lightning Bolt
- Magic Circle
- Meld into Stone
- Nondetection
- Plant Growth
- Remove Curse
- Revivify
- Sending
- Sleet Storm
- Slow
- Speak with Dead
- Speak with Plants
- Stinking Cloud
- Summon Lesser Demons
- Tongues
- Vampiric Touch
- Water Breathing
4th Level
- Banishment
- Blight
- Charm Monster
- Compulsion
- Confusion
- Confure Minor Elementals
- Conjure Woodlands Beings
- Control Water
- Death Ward
- Divination
- Dominate Beast
- Giant Insect
- Grasping Vine
- Guardian of Nature
- Ice Storm
- Locate Creature
- Phantasmal Killer
- Polymorph
- Stone Shape
- Summon Greater Demon
5th Level
- Animate Objects
- Awaken
- Cloudkill
- Commune with Nature
- Contact other Plane
- Cone of Cold
- Conjure Elemental
- Contagion
- Control Winds
- Dominate Person
- Dream
- Geas
- Greater Restoration
- Hold Monster
- Immolation
- Infernal Calling
- Insect Plague
- Legend Lore
- Maelstrom
- Modify Memory
- Reincarnate
- Scrying
- Seeming
- Transmute Rock
- Tree Stride
- Wall of Stone
- Wrath of Nature
6th Level
- Bones of the Earth
- Chain Lightning
- Circle of Death
- Conjure Fey
- Create Undead
- Disintegrate
- Eyebite
- Find the Path
- Flesh to Stone
- Harm
- Heal
- Investiture of Flame
- Investiture of Ice
- Investiture of Stone
- Investiture of Wind
- Magic Jar
- Primordial Ward
- Soul Cage
- Transport via Plants
- True Seeing
- Wall of Thorns
7th Level
- Finger of Death
- Fire Storm
- Plane Shift
- Power Word Pain
- Regenerate
- Resurrection
- Symbol
- Whirlwind
8th Level
- Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting
- Animal Shapes
- Control Weather
- Demiplane
- Dominate Monster
- Earthquake
- Feeblemind
- Maddening Darkness
- Maze
- Mind Blank
- Telepathy
8th Level
- Astral Projection
- Gate
- Imprisonment
- Mass Polymorph
- Power Word Kill
- Psychic Scream
- Shapechange
- Storm of Vengeance
- True Polymorph
- True Resurrection
- Wish
Torture
Your
Players
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If the answer is yes, then check out Chloe's Compendium of Cruelty, a collection of nearly all my homebrew content all in one place.
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