Since the Witch Queen has just released some of her knowledge into the newest tome, I figure I should just put this homebrew subclass out there now. It emulates the folkloric witches by mixing hexes and curses with potion brewing (kinda like mixing Alchemist with Hexblade). Feedback would be appreciated :>
(Also, keep in mind you have to actually get people to drink the potions in order to activate their effects, which is why they might seem strong. Deception?)
Witchcraft
Hidden away within enchanted forests and swamps are students of magic shunned and condemned by society, for they practice the taboo study of witchcraft: a collective of macabre magic developed to invoke terrible curses upon the helpless. Witches don’t just mark their victims with their hexes, but also they also weave their magic into brews and concoctions. Desperate souls sometimes seek out witches for their alchemic prowess, searching for a philter to charm their true love or a cure to a terrible disease. However, the few who do manage to meet a witch are often given a deadly poison in disguise.
Many practitioners of witchcraft are hags, although a few are outcasts who have been exiled for their malicious activities.
Baleful Hex
Starting at 2nd level, you learn how to mark someone with an ill fate. As a bonus action, you can target one creature you can see within 60 feet of you. The target is cursed for 1 minute. Until the curse ends, your attacks and spells deal extra necrotic damage to the target equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1 damage), and whenever the target makes an ability check or a saving throw, you can use your reaction to roll a d4 and subtract the number rolled from the ability check or saving throw. The curse ends early if the target dies, you die, or you are incapacitated.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest or until you expend a spell slot of any level to use it again.
Exotic Brew
Also at 2nd level, you gain proficiency with herbalism kits. If you have an herbalism kit, you can spend two hours to craft an exotic potion, or one hour if you also have a cauldron. Crafting a potion this way requires 10 gp worth of materials and an exotic ingredient. Exotic ingredients are strange components only found in nature, such as frog legs or spider eyes, and you can find one exotic ingredient per hour spent foraging in the wilderness. Apothecaries and similar places may also have exotic ingredients for sale. When you create the potion, you choose the effect it has from one of the following options.
Additionally, when you create the potion, you can magically mask it as one of the other options on the table, such as making a poison potion appear as a healing potion. The mask is merely an illusion, and a creature who makes a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC determines its true nature.
Acid. As an action, a creature can spill this potion and make a melee attack roll against a target within 5 feet of them, or throw it and make a ranged attack roll against a target within 20 feet if they throw it. In either case, the creature adds their proficiency bonus and Dexterity modifier to the attack roll. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 acid damage. If the target is an object or surface made of wood or metal, the acid eats a hole through it 6 inches in diameter and 1 inch deep. A creature also takes this damage if they drink the potion.
The damage increases to 3d6 when you reach 10th level in this class.
Healing. The drinker regains a number of hit points equal to 2d4 + your Intelligence modifier. This potion has no effect on undead or constructs.
The healing increases to 3d4 + your Intelligence modifier when you reach 10th level in this class.
Love. The drinker is charmed for 1 hour by the next creature they see within 10 minutes of drinking it. The effect ends early if the subject of the creature’s charm or any of their companions do anything harmful to the drinker.
When you reach 10th level in this class, the duration of the charming effect increases to 8 hours.
Poison. The drinker takes 3d8 poison damage and must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be poisoned. While poisoned this way, at the end of every minute the drinker takes an additional 1d8 poison damage and can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a successful save.
The initial damage increases to 4d8 when you reach 10th level in this class.
Resistance. The drinker gains resistance to one of the following damage types for 1 minute, chosen randomly: acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, thunder.
When you reach 10th level in this class, you can choose the damage type when you create the potion, instead of determining randomly.
Vitality. The drinker is cured of one disease or poison affecting it. This potion has no effect on undead or constructs.
When you reach 10th level in this class, the drinker’s exhaustion level is also reduced by one.
Manic Malediction
At 6th level, you add the bestow curse spell to your spellbook if it is not there already. For you, it has a range of 30 feet, and you can cast it as a bonus action. When you cast bestow curse, the nature of the curse can be one of the following additional options:
The target begins vividly hallucinating. While the target is cursed, it has disadvantage on all ability checks.
The target hears constant screaming in its head. While cursed, the target is deafened, can’t concentrate on spells, and takes 1d4 psychic damage at the start of each of its turns. This damage can’t reduce the target’s hit points below 10.
While cursed, the target can only speak gibberish, and is incapable of normal speech or casting spells that require a verbal component.
Accursed Concoction
At 10th level, you can imbue your potions with dreadful magic. As an action, you can touch one of your exotic potions and expend a spell slot of 4th-level or higher to store one of the following curses in it:
The drinker suffers the effects of one of the curses you can create with bestow curse.
The drinker suffers effects of the polymorphspell, transforming into a beast of your choice whose challenge rating is 1 or lower, but they retain their mental ability scores, personality, and alignment.
The drinker is under the effect of the feign deathspell.
The stored curse triggers when a creature drinks the potion. The drinker must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be afflicted with the stored curse for 12 hours. It has disadvantage on this saving throw if the potion is masked and the drinker isn’t aware of it. If you expended a spell slot of 5th-level or higher, the duration increases by 12 hours for each slot level above 4th. As an action, you can touch a creature afflicted with a stored curse and dismiss the effect. A remove cursespell ends the effect early.
You can only store one curse at a time. The curse remains in the potion until the potion is consumed or you use this feature again.
Witching Hour
Starting at 14th level, your curses grow stronger:
When the target of your Baleful Hex drops to 0 hit points, you can move the curse to a different creature you can see within 60 feet of you, provided you aren’t incapacitated.
Any spell that would end a curse of yours early automatically fails if that spell is of a lower level than the spell slot you expended for the curse. For the purposes of this, a “curse” refers to any spell you can cast that can be ended with remove curse, as well as a curse created by your Accursed Concoction feature.
This subclass seems unique, balanced, and interesting. However, being able to create practically unlimited healing potions is very overpowered. You may want to change Exotic Brew to only be useable INT modifier # of times per long rest.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
This subclass seems unique, balanced, and interesting. However, being able to create practically unlimited healing potions is very overpower. You may want to change Exotic Brew to only be useable INT modifier # of times per long rest.
Good point, I could make it so you can only have, say your INT mod or twice your proficiency mod potions at any given time. I wanted to make it feel like you were actually brewing long-lasting potions, unlike Alchemist, where you just make potions when you wake up and they last for the day.
I haven't gotten the change to look over the features, but Baleful Hex says that it comes at first level. I'm assuming this is a typo, as Wizards don't get subclasses until they get to 2nd level.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
I haven't gotten the change to look over the features, but Baleful Hex says that it comes at first level. I'm assuming this is a typo, as Wizards don't get subclasses until they get to 2nd level.
Oh, yup, that's a typo, oop. Thanks for pointing that out!
I really love this homebrew, its super unique and is able to stand out from the Alchemist Artificer.
Although, I do think the health potion is a bit op. I think it may be better as temporary health.
But overall, this subclass is incredibly detailed and very cool.
The potions have a 10 gp cost and basically take 3 hours to make, which is considerably less than making a regular healing potion but still not too easy to make. It's also basically equal to a 1st-level cure wounds until 10th level, and still an action to use (unless you're using bonus action potion home rules). I think it's pretty comparable to Alchemists who're able to make one at the start of every day, and putting a limit on the number of potions you can have at a time would also help to keep it in line. I haven't been able to playtest it, so if it does actually be end up being real strong I'll think of ways to scale it back.
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Since the Witch Queen has just released some of her knowledge into the newest tome, I figure I should just put this homebrew subclass out there now. It emulates the folkloric witches by mixing hexes and curses with potion brewing (kinda like mixing Alchemist with Hexblade). Feedback would be appreciated :>
(Also, keep in mind you have to actually get people to drink the potions in order to activate their effects, which is why they might seem strong. Deception?)
Witchcraft
Hidden away within enchanted forests and swamps are students of magic shunned and condemned by society, for they practice the taboo study of witchcraft: a collective of macabre magic developed to invoke terrible curses upon the helpless. Witches don’t just mark their victims with their hexes, but also they also weave their magic into brews and concoctions. Desperate souls sometimes seek out witches for their alchemic prowess, searching for a philter to charm their true love or a cure to a terrible disease. However, the few who do manage to meet a witch are often given a deadly poison in disguise.
Many practitioners of witchcraft are hags, although a few are outcasts who have been exiled for their malicious activities.
Baleful Hex
Starting at 2nd level, you learn how to mark someone with an ill fate. As a bonus action, you can target one creature you can see within 60 feet of you. The target is cursed for 1 minute. Until the curse ends, your attacks and spells deal extra necrotic damage to the target equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1 damage), and whenever the target makes an ability check or a saving throw, you can use your reaction to roll a d4 and subtract the number rolled from the ability check or saving throw. The curse ends early if the target dies, you die, or you are incapacitated.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest or until you expend a spell slot of any level to use it again.
Exotic Brew
Also at 2nd level, you gain proficiency with herbalism kits. If you have an herbalism kit, you can spend two hours to craft an exotic potion, or one hour if you also have a cauldron. Crafting a potion this way requires 10 gp worth of materials and an exotic ingredient. Exotic ingredients are strange components only found in nature, such as frog legs or spider eyes, and you can find one exotic ingredient per hour spent foraging in the wilderness. Apothecaries and similar places may also have exotic ingredients for sale. When you create the potion, you choose the effect it has from one of the following options.
Additionally, when you create the potion, you can magically mask it as one of the other options on the table, such as making a poison potion appear as a healing potion. The mask is merely an illusion, and a creature who makes a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC determines its true nature.
Acid. As an action, a creature can spill this potion and make a melee attack roll against a target within 5 feet of them, or throw it and make a ranged attack roll against a target within 20 feet if they throw it. In either case, the creature adds their proficiency bonus and Dexterity modifier to the attack roll. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 acid damage. If the target is an object or surface made of wood or metal, the acid eats a hole through it 6 inches in diameter and 1 inch deep. A creature also takes this damage if they drink the potion.
The damage increases to 3d6 when you reach 10th level in this class.
Healing. The drinker regains a number of hit points equal to 2d4 + your Intelligence modifier. This potion has no effect on undead or constructs.
The healing increases to 3d4 + your Intelligence modifier when you reach 10th level in this class.
Love. The drinker is charmed for 1 hour by the next creature they see within 10 minutes of drinking it. The effect ends early if the subject of the creature’s charm or any of their companions do anything harmful to the drinker.
When you reach 10th level in this class, the duration of the charming effect increases to 8 hours.
Poison. The drinker takes 3d8 poison damage and must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be poisoned. While poisoned this way, at the end of every minute the drinker takes an additional 1d8 poison damage and can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a successful save.
The initial damage increases to 4d8 when you reach 10th level in this class.
Resistance. The drinker gains resistance to one of the following damage types for 1 minute, chosen randomly: acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, thunder.
When you reach 10th level in this class, you can choose the damage type when you create the potion, instead of determining randomly.
Vitality. The drinker is cured of one disease or poison affecting it. This potion has no effect on undead or constructs.
When you reach 10th level in this class, the drinker’s exhaustion level is also reduced by one.
Manic Malediction
At 6th level, you add the bestow curse spell to your spellbook if it is not there already. For you, it has a range of 30 feet, and you can cast it as a bonus action. When you cast bestow curse, the nature of the curse can be one of the following additional options:
Accursed Concoction
At 10th level, you can imbue your potions with dreadful magic. As an action, you can touch one of your exotic potions and expend a spell slot of 4th-level or higher to store one of the following curses in it:
The stored curse triggers when a creature drinks the potion. The drinker must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be afflicted with the stored curse for 12 hours. It has disadvantage on this saving throw if the potion is masked and the drinker isn’t aware of it. If you expended a spell slot of 5th-level or higher, the duration increases by 12 hours for each slot level above 4th. As an action, you can touch a creature afflicted with a stored curse and dismiss the effect. A remove curse spell ends the effect early.
You can only store one curse at a time. The curse remains in the potion until the potion is consumed or you use this feature again.
Witching Hour
Starting at 14th level, your curses grow stronger:
This subclass seems unique, balanced, and interesting. However, being able to create practically unlimited healing potions is very overpowered. You may want to change Exotic Brew to only be useable INT modifier # of times per long rest.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
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Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
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If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Good point, I could make it so you can only have, say your INT mod or twice your proficiency mod potions at any given time. I wanted to make it feel like you were actually brewing long-lasting potions, unlike Alchemist, where you just make potions when you wake up and they last for the day.
I really love this homebrew, its super unique and is able to stand out from the Alchemist Artificer.
Although, I do think the health potion is a bit op. I think it may be better as temporary health.
But overall, this subclass is incredibly detailed and very cool.
I haven't gotten the change to look over the features, but Baleful Hex says that it comes at first level. I'm assuming this is a typo, as Wizards don't get subclasses until they get to 2nd level.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Oh, yup, that's a typo, oop. Thanks for pointing that out!
The potions have a 10 gp cost and basically take 3 hours to make, which is considerably less than making a regular healing potion but still not too easy to make. It's also basically equal to a 1st-level cure wounds until 10th level, and still an action to use (unless you're using bonus action potion home rules). I think it's pretty comparable to Alchemists who're able to make one at the start of every day, and putting a limit on the number of potions you can have at a time would also help to keep it in line. I haven't been able to playtest it, so if it does actually be end up being real strong I'll think of ways to scale it back.