Buy me a coffeeClass NPC, Hedge Witch
Liber Mysterium
The Netbook of Witches and WarlocksBy Timothy S. Brannan and The Netbook
of Witches and Warlocks Team
With elements originally Posted by
Shadowfoot of the Wizards Community forums
| The Hedge Witch is completely derived from the Adept NPC class from the System Reference Document. |
The Hedge-Witch is a person, usually female, that follows some of the practices of the witch, but has not been initiated into a formal tradition or coven. The Hedge witch is also not as concerned with the religion of witchcraft per se, but individuals can vary.
Hedge-witches may only be NPCs. Player Characters should always choose the witch class. In games where witches are common, hedge-witch offer a change of pace. Hedge-witches can be used right along with Adepts, but the two classes are so similar it is usually best to choose one or the other.
The hedge-witch combines arcane and divine skills along with a store of practical knowledge to aid those in need. Somewhat akin to adepts, druids and other witches, the hedge-witch is most often found in rural areas. These witches often serve the role of an area’s midwife, doctor, priest and wizard. She can be called on for her spells or even more mundane potions. These witches are often not persecuted as are other witches because the area’s in which the hedge-witch live come to rely on her in one way or another. Good hedge-witches use this relationship to help those that are her neighbors, evil ones, though rare, attempt to exploit these relationships.
Unlike a full witch, the hedge-witch does not have any formal training in a tradition or belong to any covens. They do have access to the skill Knowledge (Witchcraft), but GMs have to determine how the hedgewitch came across her knowledge.
Most, if not all, hedge-witches practice their craft in the comforts of their homes. Lacking a formal coven and coven stead, the hedge-witch works in the area that suits her skills the best, the kitchen. With access to all manner of mundane spices, cooking utensils and books, the kitchen of a hedge-witch rivals that of a starting alchemist. Would be witch hunters barely look twice at a woman cooking in her own kitchen with herbs from recipes. She could be preparing a healing potion or she might just be making chicken soup, or both at the same time. This has given rise to another common name for this type of witch, the kitchen witch.
A hedge-witch rarely advertises her status as a witch. Not that they overly fear persecution, they just do not see anything special with what they are doing. To them, magic is an extension of the natural world, and therefore no different than anything else, it just what you know about it.
Alignment: Any, most often good or neutral.
Hit Die: d6.
Class Skills: The hedge-witch’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Alchemy (Intelligence), Concentration (Constitution), Craft (Intelligence), Handle Animal (Charisma), Heal (Wisdom), Knowledge (all skills taken individually), Knowledge (Witchcraft) (Wisdom), Profession (Herbalist) (Wisdom), Profession (Midwifery) (Wisdom), Scry (Intelligence, exclusive skill), Spellcraft (Intelligence), and Survival (Wisdom) [Wilderness Lore (Wisdom)].
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Intelligence modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Intelligence modifier.
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Hedge-witches are skilled with all simple weapons. Hedge-witches are proficient with neither armour nor shields.
Spells: A hedge-witch casts arcane spells, or what is typically known as Thaumaturgy (low magic). She is limited to a certain number of spells of each spell level per day, according to her class level.
Like a witch, a hedge-witch may prepare and cast any spell on the hedge-witch list, provided she can cast spells of that level. Like a witch, she prepares her spells ahead of time each day. The DC for a saving throw against a hedge-witch’s spell is 10 + spell level + the hedge-witch’s Wisdom modifier.
Hedge-witch, unlike wizards, do not acquire their spells from books or scrolls, nor prepare them through study. Instead the hedge-witch learns her magic rote from a teacher, such as mother to daughter. Most magic is learned as a skill like cooking or weaving.
Each hedge-witch must choose a time each day at which she must spend an hour in quiet contemplation or supplication to regain her daily allotment of spells. This can be a restful time or it can be spent doing ·mundane· housework. For example many hedgewitches use common mnemonic devices incorporated into their daily tasks to recall spells, such as sweeping the floor aids in protection spells or preparing herbs aids in healing spells.
Time spent resting has no effect on whether a hedge-witch can prepare spells. Hedge-witches do record their ritual ceremonies in books; much like a witch’s Book of Shadows, save that a hedge-witch’s book is not magical. Most hedge-witch books look like any other recipe book a housewife might keep.
When the hedge-witch gets 0 spells of a given level, she gets only bonus spells for that spell slot. A hedge-witch without a bonus spell for that level cannot yet cast a spell of that level. Bonus spells are based on Wisdom.
Each hedge-witch has a particular ritual tool (as an arcane focus) depending on the hedge-witch’s magical tradition. Most common will be items that can be found in a normal home, such as a caldron, wand or cup.
Familiar: At 2nd level, a hedge-witch can call a familiar, just like a sorcerer or witch can. The hedge-witch can use the same list of familiars that the witch uses, but they will not opt for outsiders (imps) as a familiar.
Spell List
Hedge-Witches choose their spells from the following list.
- 0 Level: create water, cure minor wounds, detect magic, ghost sound, guidance, light, mending, purify food and drink, read magic, touch of fatigue.
- 1st Level: bless, burning hands, cause fear, command, comprehend languages, cure light wounds, detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, detect law, endure elements, obscuring mist, protection from chaos, protection from evil, protection from good, protection from law, sleep.
- 2nd Level: aid, animal trance, bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, cat’s grace, cure moderate wounds, darkness, delay poison, invisibility, mirror image, resist energy, scorching ray, see invisibility, web.
- 3rd Level: animate dead, bestow curse, contagion, continual flame, create poppet, cure serious wounds, daylight, deeper darkness, lightning bolt, neutralize poison, remove curse, remove disease, tongues.
- 4th Level: cure critical wounds, minor creation, polymorph, restoration, stoneskin, wall of fire.
- 5th Level: baleful polymorph, break enchantment, commune, heal, major creation, raise dead, true seeing, wall of stone.
- 6th level: control water, find the path, dispel magic, greater, healing circle, wall of stone
Learning Witch Spells
A hedge-witch with access to a witch’s Book of Shadows may attempt to learn any witch spells listed. They need to make the same checks that a wizard might save they do gain an additional +1 to learn the witch spell given the similar backgrounds of the two practices.
The penalty to learn witch spells by a hedge witch is -4 and plus -1 per witch spell level to all checks, thus a 6th level witch spell would be at -11 to learn. Ranks in Knowledge (Witchcraft) will reduce this by one per rank.
Witches and Hedge-Witches
Typically Witches and hedge-witches view each other well. Witches will view hedge-witches as their somewhat less fortunate ·country cousins·, even by Classical witches. Hedge-witches wonder why the witch puts so much emphasis on religon when she can serve the Goddess just as well in her own personal way.
Any hedge-witch can be invited to join a coven and then progress as a witch. Many do not since they feel that their practice is just as valid as that of covened witches.
| The Hedge-Witch | ||||||||||||
| Spells per Day | ||||||||||||
| NPC Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | 0 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | |||
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Summon familiar | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | ||
| 3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | |||
| 4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 6th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – | – | |||
| 7th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 – | ||||
| 8th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | |||
| 9th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 – | ||||
| 10th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – | |||
| 11th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 12th | +6/+1 | +4 | +4 | +8 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||
| 13th | +6/+1 | +4 | +4 | +8 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | |||
| 14th | +7/+2 | +4 | +4 | +9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |||
| 15th | +7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 16th | +8/+3 | +5 | +5 | +10 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 17th | +8/+3 | +5 | +5 | +10 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 18th | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 19th | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
| 20th | +10/+5 | +6 | +6 | +12 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |