New Swords & Wizardry Character Class: The Witch

For my Shattered Kingdoms campaign, my plan is to detail the area around the Hyrcanian Sea as a desolate land of witches and make the witch (or warlock) available as a new character class. Below is my tentative draft of that new class.

The Witch

Witches are lawful or chaotic spellcasters who receive their powers by daily petition in the same fashion as clerics and druids. But whereas clerics pray to the gods and druids venerate nature itself, witches supplicate primeval elemental beings or lesser nature spirits, such as:

• Notos, the South Wind—a spirit of the air who is a harbinger of storms and father of the fallen leaves;
• The Faerie Queen—a fey demigoddess who presides over a court of nymphs, sprites, and other woodland beings;
• Ningal, the Lady of the Reeds—a water spirit who safeguards marshlands with a retinue of naiads and fishes;
• The Horned God—a demigod associated with the wilderness and wild places who is served by an army of fauns;
• Old Worm—a chthonic entity associated with decay, decomposition, and the despoilment of nature; and
• Odqan, the Prince of Cinders—a fiery spirit who lights the way for his chosen and incinerates all unbelievers.

Witches use the Druid Advancement Table for level progression and that class’s saving throw, spell progression chart, spell list, and hit dice, but they do not gain access to fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh level spells due to the limited power of the beings that they serve. To offset this significant limitation, witches gain the following abilities:

Expanded Spell List. At each level, including first, a witch may select one spell from the magic-user spell list and add it to those she may cast. The spell must be of a level that the witch can currently cast. She receives these additional magic-user spells in the same manner as any other—by supplication of the elemental being or nature spirit she worships. This expands her magical repertoire, but she remains subject to the memorization limits imposed by the Druid Advancement Table.

Cantrips. Twice a day, on a roll of 1–4 on a d6 the witch may cast a cantrip—a minor spell that may not do damage or have combat effects. Witches may use these to do things like clean, dry, fasten or tie, freshen, palm, polish or shine, spill, sprout, stitch or sew, or warm objects or persons. If used to affect others—such as making them nod or sneeze—no save is allowed.

Bless or Curse. At second level, a lawful witch gains the power to bless and a chaotic witch gains the power to curse, which may be invoked once per day. To bless, the witch rolls a saving throw; if she succeeds, her target is blessed for 1d4 +1/level rounds. While blessed, the target makes two rolls whenever a die roll is required and always takes the most favorable result. Conversely, when a witch curses another, the target must make a saving throw; if the target fails, he is cursed for 1d4 +1/level rounds. While cursed, the target makes two rolls whenever a die roll is required and always takes the least favorable result.

Familiar. At third level, a witch gains a randomly chosen familiar—a spirit in animal guise that aids her. These come in many forms, four of which are detailed below, and confer various abilities on their mistresses as they advance in level. If her familiar is slain, a witch takes 1d2 damage and must save or faint for 2d4 rounds. A slain familiar reappears in a week’s time.

1. Owl. HD 1d4 hit points +2/witch’s level; AC 2; Atk talons (1d2+1/witch’s level); Move Fly 15; Save and THAC0 are the same as the witch. The owl confers the following abilities:

Level	Ability Conferred by Familiar
3	darkvision 60 feet—the witch may always see in non-magical darkness
4	acute hearing—the witch may hear sounds as a thief of the same level
5	camouflage—the witch is invisible while motionless in natural cover on 1–4 on a d6
6	fly—once per day, the witch may fly like the owl for one round per level

2. Wolf. HD 3d4 hit points +2/witch’s level; AC 4; Atk bite (1d4+1/witch’s level); Move 18; Save and THAC0 are the same as the witch. The wolf confers the following abilities:

Level	Ability Conferred by Familiar
3	lupine movement—the witch has movement rate of 18 and may leap 16 feet
4	acute senses—the witch may make a saving throw to avoid being surprised
5	wolfsight—once per day, the witch may see through the wolf’s eyes for 1 round/level
6	howl—in the wilderness, the witch may summon 1d4 wolves once per day

3. Rook. HD 1d3 hit points +2/witch’s level; AC 0; Atk beak (1+1/witch’s level); Move Fly 18; Save and THAC0 are same as the witch. The rook confers the following abilities:

Level	Ability Conferred by Familiar
3	secret wisdom—the witch gains an extra first- or second-level magic-user spell
4	messenger—the rook may carry messages of 50 words or less to and from others
5	location—once per day, the witch may locate an object per the clerical spell
6	truesight—once per day, the witch may see through illusions and see invisible things

4. Serpent. HD 2d4 hit points +2/witch’s level; AC 3; Atk bite (1d3+1/witch’s level); Move 10; Save and THAC0 are same as the witch. The serpent confers the following abilities:

Level	Ability Conferred by Familiar
3	snakeskin—the witch has a base armor class of 7 [12] and her skin is waterproof
4	serpentine metabolism—the witch need only eat every 1d4 days and may feign death
5	shed skin—once per day, the witch may significantly alter or disguise her appearance
6	venom—a target hit by the witch additionally loses 1d4 hit points/round until it saves

Wand. At seventh level, a witch acquires a wooden wand which permits her to focus her concentration and will when invoking the power of the being she supplicates. For every 1d4 hit points expended, she may increase by 50 percent the area of effect, duration, or range of a spell cast. Alternatively, the witch may impose a -1 penalty to a target’s saving throw for every 1d4 hit points expended. The witch must choose how many d4s she will roll before seeing their results.

Magic Items. Like druids, witches are able to use any magical item usable by clerics with the exception clerical scrolls.

Coven. At eleventh level, a witch may found her own coven by building a place of worship and consecrating an altar there. This may consist of a circle of standing stones, a sacred grove, a chapel, a cavern complex, or some other edifice appropriate to the power the witch serves. A witch who does so will attract lesser witches and other followers.