HEXES

Witches learn a number of magic tricks, called hexes, that grant them powers or weaken foes. At 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter, a witch gains one hex of her choice. A witch cannot select an individual hex more than once. Unless otherwise noted, using a hex is a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. The save to resist a hex is equal to 10 + 1/2 the witch’s level + the witch’s Intelligence modifier.

 

​Beast of Ill-Omen (Su): The witch imbues her familiar with strange magic, putting a minor curse upon the next enemy to see it. The enemy must make a Will save or be affected by bane (caster level equal to the witch’s level). The witch can use this hex on her familiar at a range of up to 60 feet. The affected enemy must be no more than 60 feet from the familiar to trigger the effect; seeing the familiar from a greater distance has no effect (though if the enemy and familiar approach to within 60 feet of each other, the curse takes effect). The bane affects the closest creature to the familiar (ties affect the creature with the highest initiative score). Whether or not the target’s save is successful, the creature cannot be the target of the bane effect for 1 day (later uses of this hex ignore that creature when determining who is affected).

​Cackle (Su): A witch can cackle madly as a move action. Any creature that is within 30 feet that is under the effects of an agony, babble, boneless steps, charm, dark desires, discord, disrupt connection, elemental warp, evil eye, fortune, glory of the heavens, mark of plague, misfortune, or primal fury hex caused by the witch has the duration of that hex extended by 1 round.
Cauldron (Ex): The witch receives Brew Potion as a bonus feat and a +4 insight bonus on Craft (alchemy) skill checks.

• Poison Steep (Sp): The witch can use her cauldron to brew a foul toxin in which she can steep fruits and other delicious edibles, transforming them so that when eaten, they have the same effect as a poison spell. Brewing the toxin and then steeping the food takes 1 hour in total; steeping can affect up to 1 pound of food. The food is poisoned for 24 hours, and the poison cannot be transferred to other objects. The food tastes normal, but magic detects it as poisonous.

• Witch’s Bottle (Su): Once per day, the witch can perform a 10-minute ritual to create a potion imbued with the power of one of her hexes. Any creature that consumes this potion is affected by the hex as if cast by its creator. The witch can›t use that hex until the potion is consumed or rendered inert. Only hexes that can target a creature other than the witch can be distilled in this way. The potion remains potent until consumed or rendered inert by the witch as a free action.

Charm (Su): A witch can charm an animal or humanoid creature within 30 feet by beckoning and speaking soothing words. This improves the attitude of an animal or humanoid creature by 1 step, as if the witch had successfully used the Diplomacy skill. The effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to the witch’s Intelligence modifier. A Will save negates this effect. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this effect again for 1 day. At 8th level, this effect improves the attitude of the target creature by 2 steps. This is a mind-affecting charm effect.

Child-Scent (Ex): The witch gains the scent ability, but only with respect to humanoid children and immature animals. Thus, she could sniff out a child’s hiding place or a den of wolf pups, but not the child’s parents or the den mother.

Coven (Ex): The witch counts as a hag for the purpose of joining a hag’s coven. The coven must contain at least one hag. In addition, whenever the witch with this hex is within 30 feet of another witch with this hex, she can use the aid another action to grant a +1 bonus to the other witch’s caster level for 1 round. This bonus applies to the witch’s spells and all of her hexes.

Dark Desires (Su): The witch can cause a creature within 30 feet to suffer desires it finds distasteful and distracting for 1 round. Anytime the creature attempts to use a spell or spell-like ability, or use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration, it must make a concentration check to do so. (Creatures that do not normally have a concentration check may make one of 1d20 + the creature’s Hit Dice + creature’s Constitution modifier). The DC of this check is equal to 10 + the witch’s level + the witch’s Intelligence modifier. A Will save negates this hex. At 8th level and 16th level, the duration of this hex is extended by 1 round. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day.

Depthless Wound (Su): The witch possesses a large painless wound that never heals somewhere on her person. The wound contains an extradimensional space equivalent to a bag of holding type I, except her familiar can remain safely within it with no danger of suffocation. Only the witch can store items within or remove items from the extradimensional space. The wound widens to accept objects capable of being stored, but the witch cannot store items of her size or larger. If the witch enters a portable hole (or vice versa), a rift sends her to the Astral Plane but she might be able to make her way back. At 8th level, the depthless wound acts as a bag of holding type II, at 12th level as a bag of holding type III, and at 16th level as a bag of holding type IV.

Discord (Su): The witch can make an animal or humanoid within 30 feet distrust another creature within line of sight. The target’s attitude toward the other creature decreases by one step. A successful Will save negates this effect. The effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to the witch’s Intelligence modifier. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day. At 8th level, this effect decreases the attitude of the target creature by two steps. This is a mind-affecting charm effect.
Disguise (Su): A witch can change her appearance for a number of hours equal to her class level, as if using disguise self. These hours do not need to be consecutive, but they must be spent in 1-hour increments.

Evil Eye (Su): The witch can cause doubt to creep into the mind of a foe within 30 feet that she can see. The target takes a –2 penalty on one of the following (witch’s choice): AC, ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, or skill checks. This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the witch’s Intelligence modifier. A Will save reduces this to just 1 round. This is a mind-affecting effect. At 8th level the penalty increases to –4.

Flight (Su): The witch grows lighter as she gains power, eventually gaining the ability to fly. At 1st level, the witch can use feather fall at will and gains a +4 racial bonus on Swim checks. At 3rd level, she can cast levitate once per day. At 5th level, she can fly, as per the spell, for a number of minutes per day equal to her level. These minutes do not need to be consecutive, but they must be spent in 1-minute increments. This hex only affects the witch.
Fortune (Su): The witch can grant a creature within 30 feet a bit of good luck for 1 round. The target can call upon this good luck once per round, allowing him to reroll any ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, taking the better result. He must decide to use this ability before the first roll is made. At 8th level and 16th level, the duration of this hex is extended by 1 round. Once a creature has benefited from the fortune hex, it cannot benefit from it again for 24 hours.

Misfortune (Su): The witch can cause a creature within 30 feet to suffer grave misfortune for 1 round. Anytime the creature makes an ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, it must roll twice and take the worse result. A Will save negates this effect. At 8th level and 16th level, the duration of this hex is extended by 1 round. This hex affects all rolls the target must make while it lasts. Whether or not the save is successful, a
creature cannot be the target of this effect again for 1 day.

Nails (Ex): The witch’s nails are long and sharp, and count as natural weapons that deal 1d3 points of damage (1d2 for a Small witch). These attacks are secondary attacks. If trimmed, the witch’s nails regrow to their normal size in 1d4 days.

Prehensile Hair (Su): The witch can instantly cause her hair (even her eyebrows) to grow up to 10 feet long or to shrink to its normal length, and can manipulate her hair as if it were a limb with a Strength score equal to her Intelligence score. Her hair has reach 10 feet, and she can use it as a secondary natural attack that deals 1d3 points of damage (1d2 for a Small witch). Her hair can manipulate objects (but not weapons) as dexterously as a human hand. The hair cannot be sundered or attacked as a separate creature. Pieces cut from the witch’s elongated hair shrink away to nothing. Using her hair does not harm the witch’s head or neck, even if she lifts something heavy with it. The witch can manipulate her hair a number of minutes each day equal to her level; these minutes do not need to be consecutive, but must be spent in 1-minute increments. A typical male witch with this hex can also manipulate his beard or moustache.

Scar (Su): This hex curses a single target touched with horrible scars of the witch’s choosing, whether something as simple as a single letter on the target’s forehead or blotchy, burn-like scars on his body. The target may make a Will save to resist this effect. These scars do not interfere with the target’s senses or prevent it from using abilities, but may affect social interactions. The witch can use her hexes on the scarred target at a range of up to 1 mile, and she is considered to have a body part from the target for the purpose of scrying and similar divination magic. They persist through disguises and shapechanging. The witch can withdraw this effect from a target as a move action at any range. The number of supernatural scars the witch can maintain at once is equal to her Intelligence bonus; once she reaches this limit, she must remove the scar from a current victim in order to mark another. This effect can be removed with a remove curse or similar magic, using the using the save DC as the DC to remove the curse.

Tongues (Su): A witch with this hex can understand any spoken language for a number of minutes per day equal to her level, as comprehend languages. This duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be spent in 1-minute increments. At 5th level, a witch can use this ability to speak any language, as per tongues.

Unnerve Beasts (Su): The target becomes offensive to animals (Will negates). Animals become distraught and aggressive in the victim’s presence — horses buck, dogs snap and bark, bulls charge, and so on. The effect lasts a number of hours equal to the witch’s Intelligence modifier. A creature that saves against the effect cannot be affected by the hex for 1 day. The reaction of the animals is a mind-affecting charm effect, but the effect on the target is not.

Witchlights (Su): You can call into being a cluster of four hypnotic, flickering lights similar to those created by the dancing lights spell as a standard action. Each witchlight moves up to 30 feet per round as you direct it, but winks out of existence if the distance between you and it should ever exceed 100 feet. Any creature that views the lights becomes captivated by its strange luminescence unless it succeeds on a Will saving throw. Creatures that fail their saves are fascinated by the witchlights, and take no actions except to follow the nearest dancing light. Any potential threat allows a fascinated creature a new saving throw against this effect, and any obvious or immediate threat breaks the effect automatically. This is a mind-affecting effect, and directing or dismissing any or all of the witchlights is a free action. Whether or not a creature’s save is successful, no creature can be affected by this hex more than once per day.