The group of adventurers entered the final chamber. Their mission to rescue the local miller's daughter had quickly turned into a desperate struggle for survival. While traveling through the underground catacombs beneath the city, it had seemed as though nature itself had turned on them. Vines snaked around their bodies, spores from mold clouded the air, insects bit them, and wild animals beseiged them from all angles. Already they had lost one of their own; the local cleric who came to assist them had already fallen. Only the mage, the fighter, and the local thief were left. All were cautious after the death of their cleric, but they could not have been prepared for what was next.
The miller's daughter was chained to the table on a separated piece of rock near the back of the room. Vines and mold covered the cracked wall, and a river surrounded the room. Despite its natural appearance, the room had a shadow of death hanging over it. Skeletons and decaying carcases littered the floor, and out of their remains blood red plants grew.
The witch stood over the girl's body. Sage burned in the background as the witch raised the cursed dagger over the young girls body. The groups rather loud entrance interupted the chants. Gazing upon the group, all weary from their previous battles, the witch let out a shrill cackle.
"The prophesy will come to pass, and there is nothing you foul mortals can do to prevent it!" And with a cackle she disappeared.
However, this was not the only thing the group had to worry about. Almost at once a group of panthers and wolves set upon the group. Their eyes glowed an unatural yellow. While not a threat by themselves, the vines had come to life and reached out to strangle the group of adventurers.
This first wave was delt with quickly. The mage quickly cast a spell sending fire up the trail of vines, the fighter quickly began cutting down the dominated animals, while the rogue lept into the shadows to rescue the miller's daughter.
The witch reappeared after the last panther had been cut down. "So you dealt with my minions? They were just a test, and they've accomplished their purpose. Now you get to deal with me!" With that, the witch raised her arms. "I call upon the forces of the dark; give unto me the protector!" The ground shook and cracked. Out of the shadows appeared a being of pure fire.
"And that is not all!" The witch cackled.
The mage and the fighter stepped closer together. For new plants were growing very rapidly. The strong, moist, blood-red plants quickly grew large, thick, and thorny. The being of fire advanced on them, and the plants encircled them. Knowing their time was up, both men desparately hoped the rogue could get out alive with the daughter.
The witch, as if reading their minds, cackled again. "Did you think I couldn't see you?" she called out into the darkness. Outreaching her hand, she pulled the rogue out of the shadows. With one more spell the rogue crumpled, and the witch laughed.
The plants ensnared the remaining adventurers. The being of fire advanced upon the group. The miller's daughter screamed. And through it all, the witch's shrill laugh pierced through the cavernous tomb.
Edited By Kail Pendragon on 08/27/08 12:27
your sposed to post the build not the story..... or atleast both
The witch is my idea of a pure spellcaster druid, which isn't seen every day. This witch has amazing saves on her spells, along with a nice amount of hit points for just a spellcaster. Add in companions and this character can do some very evil things in any situation.
Skill points go as follow: On druid levels- max animal empathy, concentration, and spellcraft (save the rest) on rogue and shadow dancer levels- max hide, move silently, and tumble (save the rest)
So, spell DC (unbuffed)for: Level 9 Necromancy spell = 10+6+9+11=36 Level 9 Conjuration spell = 10+6+9+11=36 Level 9 Transmutation spell = 10+6+9+11=36 Any other level 9 spell = 10+9+11 = 30
With +12 to Wisdom (easy on low magic world via Owl's Insights), the wisdom modifier jumps from +11 to +17, thus adding 6 to all your spell DC's.
Tactics: Vrs. Fighter= Reflex save spells are king here. Grease and entangle are especially nice as if your enemy is knocked down or entangled your wonderful panther gets nice sneak attacks. HIPS is nice too.
Vrs. Mage= Fortitude save spells like all your death spell and or drown are very nice here. Oh, and don't forget everyone's favorite spell Grease. Grease, while originally absorbed by a spell mantle, sticks around. On the next save the spell doesn't get absorbed, and down goes the mage. Just make sure you can survive long enough for this to happen. Also, keep up the damage with spells, companion, and summons.
Vrs. Cleric, RDDs, and Paladins= These get their own category as they are all VERY heavy damage dealers. The trick with clerics is to get the advantage on them. Grease is very nice here too. On the others, use HIPS to place yourself in a nice position to start casting. Against paladin saves, you might need some luck, but the constant saves from some of your spells will give you the advantage if you catch them unawares.
Vrs. Rogue= True seeing is key here. After that, death spells and drown are nice. If necessary use HIPS to get away from a loosing battle.
Overall- The best spells aren't always 9th level. Grease and Entangle are both amazing spells that work well against anything. Your animal companion is important so don't leave him undefended. And remember, the more time you have to cast your spells the better, as most of your best spells won't work right away. This character offers power along with great role playing oppertunities. Anyone would like it.
For Powergamers- Switch the rogue level for a monk level. The +11 to AC is nice, but the Lawful Neutral bind is very annoying. If one does deside to do this, make sure you go evil and chaotic starting at 21st level, because a witch really shouldn't be lawful neutral.
Interesting concept. And truly a great roleplaying opportunity.
What do you think about dropping the rogue level(s) and taking a level of cleric at character level 2 and of course picking the Animal domain to boost all of your summons?
Kaliban. _________________ Check out the Epic Character Builders Guild Click Here Test your new builds in this mod: Click Here
lose rogue because SD grants you evasion and uncanny at the same time with only 2 lvls of SD. and your ice storm will gain power from more druid lvls
Actually I did consider that option in another build. I took the rogue to max hide, tumble, and move silently at level 20 and so I didn't have to cross-class skills to get the requirements for Shadow Dancer. But it could be done.
I'm not actually sure if the animal domain enhances the stats of your summons. I know that it boosts your summons up the next level (if you have animal domain and cast summon creature 1 you get the summon creature 2 animal). Other then that I'm not sure if the animals themselves are better....
As for the ice storm, yes it does get better with druid levels, but I would not recommend using it. There are a lot of very important druid buffs in the 5th level spell group, and after those there is the spell Slay Living, which I find much more evil and witch-like then Ice Storm.
How about exchanging rogue for bard? You won't be able to sing or cast bard spells (but I don't see a witch doing those anyway), but this would allow you to get ~40 discipline.
I actually don't see how would a witch use Animal Empathy - maybe by charming those animals with an evil spell, but that's not how this skill works theoretically.
The animal empathy is, in my mind, a very primal skill that allows one to connect with the wild. While not technically charming, I guess the domination aspect would be in convincing the animals through speech to join you/fight for you ect. So the reason behind it was so that the witch could converse with fellow animals, preferable some of the more "evil" ones, and gain knowledge or rare parts for spells or defenders. Plus, in real life the creepiness factor is off the charts. Seeing an intelligent animal, especially one that does harm, is unnerving (Alfred hitchcock and The Birds anyone?)
On a more practical not, animals give the druid more allies then any other class; 1 companion, 1 summon, and 1 animal empathied creature gives a total of 4 in the party (including yourself). The only match is the ranger, but he summon spells aren't nearly as good. A four person party is very nice at low levels, and at high levels animals can act as meat shields.
The bard might make sense in the thinking that witches use chants and such, but it really isn't singing. Also, the rogue will give a couple extra skill points, and sneak attack with is nice as the witch's physical damage is rather low. At the cost of 23 discipline (which is the max at level 20 when I took the rogue level), I'd say the rogue was better. But, its up to you.
Well, I doubt if this character will ever engage in melee - she has her companion (and druidic companions, although few realise that, really kick ***) to do so. But if she has use for sneak attack, it might be good to be druid 36/ rogue 3/ sd 1 - although I don't know if losing SD's feats from level 2 is really worth it.
Brilliant, just what i was looking for. Thanks! _________________ "First you get the spoons, then you get the women" -Hawk
I actually went 38 Druid/1 Rogue/ 1 Shadowdancer. I would have dropped the rogue, however to have HiPS you need the SD. Rogue you don't get a point penalty.
Also. . . For PvP DC's really don't matter on local vaults. So I used the feats for something else. Epic Spell Penetration of course, Epic Energy Resistance which for your mage fights it really handy being as Ice Storm is widely used. So my build is virtually immune to it.
Now with the spells. . . Grease and Entangle are good, however if they have high saves, again the spells would be useless. Nature's Balance is a good spell for certain builds. Don't forget Silent Spell, Empowered Spell, and Maximized spell.
I wouldn't really go with Animal Empathy being as if you want PvP builds, just take Concentration and Spellcraft (until about 25-27 if you want an epic spell or Auto-Silence or something). Then when you take the rogue level max out your Hide and Move Silently, and tumble along with Spot, take your Shadowdancer level, put the last skill points in the same ones.
I sparked my idea from The Quintessential Witch d20 supplement published by mongoose. However to get the full benefit of that whole class you have to basically mix Druid, Cleric, Wizard/Sorcerer, and Shadowdancer.
Though this is a useful build, 38 Druid boosts your caster level up and would help with Ice Storm which people are always running away from. _________________ Disclaimer: Note that I have a 0 tolerance to sarcasm.
This is not the ramblings of every pagan, or every gypsy. Just the ramblings of a pagan gypsy.
Two comments: 1 - If the Rogue level is just for qualifying for SD, delay it to 21 to gain 1 BAB. 2 - If you aren't using the Rogue level to pump UMD, then I would replace it with a level of Monk. You lose UMD, still have access to Hide, MS, and Tumble (so qualify for SD), gain the monk APR schedule for all your shifted forms, gain Monk Wis bonus to AC, Evasion, cleave, etc. Yes, it's cheesy, but if you want to get the most benefit from a single level of a class Monk has it. If you're not focused on combat, take the monk level pre-epic to gain +2 to all saves as well (vs. Rogue only giving you +2 to Reflex).
TM
Interesting build. The only thing I'd say is that I do imagine a witch as having some arcane magic mixed into the build as well. Maybe Druid 35/wizard 3/SD 2? Still sufficient to protect against any dispel, gives you access to all the arcane side, if at least by scrolls, more ways to summon as well...plus you can throw a pixie out there to handle your routine locks and traps. Since you're not trying to max stealth by 20, crossclassing doesn't seem too painful to me.
And since the Hathran PRC does pretty much exactly what I suggested (arcane/divine mixed casting), I think I'm on good ground suggesting that here. Not to mention you already have the INT to support it.
