Elder magic is a strange and powerful thing, even those who have long practiced its way still wonder and marvel at the ephemeral mystery of its nature. Witches are often its speaker, having spent eons passing down its knowledge through the generations of their coven. But not all who work within the elder magic do so under the communal eye of a coven, nor do they weave its ancient ways in order to pursue the deeper wells of its forgotten mystery. Instead, they channel its power upon the battlefield itself.

Steel is their athame, blood their ritual ink. Witch Knights wander the realm without coven, often alone in their unique relationship to the elder magic. The stories of how a witch knight first waded in the pools of elder magic are often as disparate and unique as the knights themselves. Some are born the seventh son of a seventh son, inherently in touch with such arts. Others are gifted their talents through blessing or training, and some are the result of curses uncured and hereditary hexes long forgotten...

Lesser Rite of Exchange

Whenever you short rest, you may sacrifice some of your vitality to regain magical power. You may expend any number of hit die, regaining a number of mystic marks equal to the amount of hit dice expended, up to your maximum.

 

Spellcasting Ability

Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your witch spells, as they are born from your connection to the elder magic. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a witch spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

• Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
• Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Limited Ritual Casting

In addition at 3rd level you gain access to one ritual spell of your choice from any spell list, the spell doesn’t count against your spells known, and must be of a level equal to or lower than shown in the max spell level column for your class level. You may gain access to another ritual spell in this way at 8th, 14th, and 20th levels.
If you cast find familiar using this feature, you gain access to an expanded list of familiars. You may choose any small or tiny beast of challenge rating 1/8 or lower, a mastiff, a grimalkin, pseudodragon, or blink dog.

Circle of Blight Feature

At 15th level, the blight within you reaches new strengths. Your blight die increases in size, becoming d10s, and you may target larger or more creatures using Rising Sickness.
Additionally, as a reaction when your wildshape form, or creature benefitting from your Gifts of Blight within 60 feet, is reduced to 0 hit points, you regain some of the blighted power within and restore one expended blight die.

Weapon of Rite

You can spend an hour performing a rite of arms, infusing one weapon of your choice with elder magic, making it a weapon of rite. While wielding this weapon it acts as a spellcasting focus for your witch spells, and also becomes a lesser athame. As a bonus action while holding the weapon you may transfer any number of mystic marks either into or out of your Athame. Your Weapon of Rite can hold a maximum number of mystic marks at one time equal to your proficiency bonus. You cannot exceed either yours or your weapons mystic mark maximum when transferring marks this way.
The form of your athame weapon of rite becomes is determined by its damage type:

• Lesser Athame of Stone
  Prerequisite: Simple or Martial Weapon that deals bludgeoning damage
  Whilst you hold the athame weapon, any damage you take is reduced by half the number of marks stored within it (rounded down, minimum of 1).

• Lesser Athame of Thorn
  Prerequisite: Simple or Martial Weapon that deals piercing damage
  Once per turn when you hit a creature with an attack using the athame weapon, you can reduce its AC by half the number of marks stored.

• Lesser Athame of Steel
  Prerequisite. Simple or Martial Weapon that deals slashing damage
  Creatures you hit with the athame weapon take a penalty to the next saving throw they make against your spells before the end of your next turn, equal to half the number of marks stored within it (rounded down, minimum of 1).

Strike of Diminution

Beginning at 7th level, the first time you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack on your turn, you can choose to forgo any remaining extra attacks and instead use the strike to cast a witch spell from your known spells in tandem. The spell must have a casting time of one action, and if successful only affects the creature hit by the weapon attack regardless of how many targets the spell normally has. When cast in this way the spell requires 1 less mark to cast for each extra attack you forgo (minimum of 1), but is otherwise cast normally.

Curse of the Warrior

At 10th level, you learn how to imbue your hexes and blessings with elder battle hexes. Whilst holding concentration on a spell, your spell and weapon attacks deal additional damage to any creatures affected by that spell. If the spell is instead targeting an ally, any creature that hits the allied creature with an attack takes the additional damage.

The damage is of a type you choose when casting the spell, and equals the level of the spell + your Wisdom modifier.

Battle Ready Blessing

As a reaction when initiative is rolled, provided you aren’t surprised, you may cast a single spell. The spell must have a casting time of one action, and only target allied creatures, but is otherwise cast normally.

Sympathetic Rite

When a creature within 60 feet of you dies whilst under the effects of a spell or sigil you have cast, you can use your reaction to channel its connection to your elder magic into a sympathetic rite. You may expend a use of Second Wind, Action Surge, or Indomitable to regain an expended use of one of the other two.

Sigils

You learn one sigil of your choice from the witch class. Sigils can be used with leveled spells or cantrips unless otherwise specified. Multiple sigils can be used on the casting of a spell, but each only once, unless otherwise specified. When you reach a level in this class that grants the Ability Score Improvement feature, you may swap one sigil you know for another of your choice.

Sigil of Vulnerability

When you cast a spell that requires an attack roll or saving throw, and targets one creature, you can spend an additional mystic mark to reduce the creature's AC by 1 until the start of your next turn.

• Greater Sigil: Expend an additional 1-2 mystic marks, instead reducing the target's AC by the total amount of mystic marks expended on this sigil.

Sigil of Slowing

When you cast a spell that affects one or more creatures, you can spend an additional mystic mark to reduce the creature's speed by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.

• Greater Sigil: Expend an additional mystic mark, you instead halve the creature's speed until the start of your next turn.

Sigil of Silence

If a spell has an area of effect, you can spend an additional mystic mark to fill the space with restrictive silence. Until the end of your next turn, or while you maintain concentration on the spell, creatures within the area of the spell are deafened while entirely inside it and casting a spell that includes a verbal component is impossible there.

• Greater Sigil: Expend an additional mystic mark, enemy creatures within the area also have disadvantage on constitution saving throws to maintain concentration.

Sigil of Protection

When you cast a spell that targets allied creatures, you can burn an additional mystic mark to weave protection into the magic. Until the end of your next turn one allied creature of your choice affected by the spell also gains the benefits of the sanctuary spell.

• Greater Sigil: Expend an additional mystic mark, the first time the chosen creature is subjected to an effect that forces them to make a Dexterity saving throw within the next minute, they instead take no damage if they succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if they fail.

Sigil of Fortune

When you cast a spell that requires a saving throw you can burn an additional mystic mark to gamble on the spell’s bounty. The affected creatures gain a bonus to their saving throw against the spell equal to a die of your choice (1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d12). If a creature still fails the save, it then takes necrotic damage equal to the spell’s level x the chosen die at the start of its next turn.

• Greater Sigil: Expend an additional mystic mark, the chosen die size increases by one (maximum of 1d12) for the purpose of damage only.

Sigil of Journey

When you cast a spell that targets a single creature within 30 feet of you, you can burn an additional mystic mark to shift yourself through the magic. You immediately teleport to a space you can see within 5 feet of the target creature.

• Greater Sigil: Expend an additional mystic mark, you may instead teleport to any unoccupied space you can see within 30 feet of the target.

Sigil of Reply

Prerequisite: Coven of the Hunt
When you cast a spell that targets one or more creatures, you can burn an additional mystic mark to bind those effects. Until the end of your next turn, any affected creature that hits you or your familiar with an attack takes necrotic damage equal to 1d4 x the spell’s level, and they are no longer affected by the sigil.

• Greater Sigil: Expend an additional mystic mark, the sigil’s damage increases to 1d8 x the spell’s level.

Sigil of Bond

Prerequisite: Coven of the Hunt
When you cast a spell that targets only you, you can burn an additional mystic mark to grant your familiar the benefits of the spell for its duration.

• Greater Sigil: Expend an additional mystic mark, while under the effects of the spell your familiar also gains the benefits of the spell death ward.

Sigil of Hound

Prerequisite: Coven of the Hunt
When you cast a spell that targets a single allied creature, that creature gains advantage on the first attack they make on their turn against creatures within 5 feet of your familiar until the end of your next turn, or while you maintain concentration on the spell.

• Greater Sigil: Expend an additional mystic mark, the allied creature also doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks from creatures within 5 feet of your familiar, and while the sigil is active your familiar can use its reaction to move up to its speed toward the allied creature.

 Sigil of Division

If a spell has a sphere or cube area of effect, you can spend an additional mystic mark when casting that spell to divide the area up, creating two smaller areas within the range of the spell equal to half the spell's original area (rounded down). For example, if a spell's area of effect is a 30 foot sphere, you instead create two 15 foot spheres within the casting range of the spell.

• Greater Sigil: Expend an additional mystic mark, you create one additional area within range of the spell.

Sigil of Alteration

If a spell has an area of effect, you can spend an additional mystic mark to change the shape of the area to a cone, 5 foot wide line, or sphere. The new shape retains the maximum original size, or 30 foot, whichever is lower. If the spell’s range is self, it instead becomes 60 foot. For example, a 30 foot sphere would become a 5 foot wide 30 foot long line. Cones and lines must originate from you.

• Greater Sigil: Expend an additional mystic mark, cone and line areas can originate from a point of your choice within range of the spell.

Magic of Rite

When you reach 3rd level, you gain access to the rites and powers of elder magic to enhance your potency on the battlefield.

• Magic of Rite
  Casting spells as a witch knight taps into the elder magic, and makes use of mystic marks rather than spell slots. Casting a spell requires you to use a number of mystic marks equal to the spell’s level +1, and you have a number of mystic marks to spend as defined in the Mystic Marks column on your subclass table. You regain all expended mystic marks on a long rest.