The Witch Doctor draws their strength from the spiritual realm, invoking ancestral wisdom, channeling curses, and manipulating the cycle of life and death to protect their community or pursue their own ambitions. As a practitioner of ancient and often forbidden arts, the Witch Doctor occupies a space between healer, warrior, and mystic. Their methods are unconventional—ritualistic dances, fetishes imbued with spiritual energy, and necromantic whispers—but their results are undeniable.

Witch Doctors are often viewed with a mixture of reverence and fear. They are seen as intermediaries between the living and the dead, capable of calling forth blessings or unleashing devastating curses upon their foes. They carry the weight of their ancestors' will, whether for vengeance, guidance, or protection. Their abilities reflect their close relationship with the natural world, its cycles of decay and renewal, and the spirits that inhabit it.

Unlike other clerics who channel the divine through prayer, Witch Doctors are deeply tied to their environment, often blending the primal forces of nature with spiritual magic. They craft fetishes, animate totems, and inflict curses that are as terrifying as they are effective. Though their methods may seem dark or unorthodox, they are driven by a desire to restore balance, protect the weak, and preserve the wisdom of those who came before.

 

Level 3: Channel Divinity: Spirit Totem

1. Totem of Vigor (Healing Aura)

The totem emits a radiant aura in a 10-foot radius. Creatures of your choice within the aura regain hit points equal to 1d6 + your Wisdom modifier when they start their turn in the area. This healing effect cannot affect undead or constructs.

2. Totem of Wrath (Curse Aura)

The totem releases necrotic energy in a 10-foot radius. Creatures of your choice within the aura must subtract 1d4 from all attack rolls and saving throws while in the area.

3. Totem of Fear (Control Aura)

The totem exudes an eerie, oppressive aura in a 15-foot radius. Creatures of your choice within the aura must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become Frightened until the end of their next turn.

Level 3: Spirit Domain Spells

Your connection to this spirit domain ensures you always have certain spells ready. When you reach a Cleric level specified in the Witch Doctor Spells table, you thereafter always have the listed spells prepared.

Cantrips

• Chill Touch (Necrotic damage and preventing healing fits the death magic theme.)
• Infestation (Summoning swarms of insects is a thematic touch for primal Witch Doctors.)
• Mage Hand (Thematic for manipulating objects as part of rituals.)
• Minor Illusion (Creating ghostly or spectral effects adds flavor.)
• Poison Spray (Harnessing toxins matches the Witch Doctor's knowledge of poisons.)
• Spare the Dying (Reviving allies aligns with the balance between life and death.)
• Thaumaturgy (Enhancing a Witch Doctor's commanding presence and rituals.)
• Toll the Dead (Necrotic damage themed around spiritual punishment.)

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1st Level

• Bane (Weakening foes with curses is quintessential Witch Doctor.)
• Bless (Bolstering allies in a spiritual sense fits their dual nature.)
• Command (Forcing others to obey your will feels suitably mystical.)
• Cure Wounds (Healing fits the spiritual, shamanic side.)
• Detect Poison and Disease (Understanding and leveraging toxins is core to their lore.)
• Hex (Inflicting curses directly.)
• Ray of Sickness (Spreading sickness matches their darker aspects.)

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2nd Level

• Blindness/Deafness (Debilitating foes with spiritual afflictions.)
• Enhance Ability (Drawing on spiritual power to enhance allies.)
• Hold Person (Paralyzing a foe aligns with their manipulative nature.)
• Lesser Restoration (Removing spiritual or physical afflictions matches their healer side.)
• Misty Step (The Witch Doctor vanishes mysteriously in a puff of smoke.)
• Silence (Creating an eerie, spell-suppressing zone feels thematic.)
• Spiritual Weapon (Summoning a spectral weapon fits their spiritual focus.)

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3rd Level

• Bestow Curse (One of the most iconic Witch Doctor spells, directly cursing a foe.)
• Counterspell (Interrupting spells can be flavored as disrupting spiritual energy.)
• Dispel Magic (Neutralizing enchantments aligns with their spiritual control.)
• Revivify (Restoring life fits their mastery of the balance between life and death.)
• Spirit Guardians (Summoning spectral ancestors to protect allies.)
• Stinking Cloud (Unleashing noxious fumes ties to their primal nature.)

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4th Level

• Blight (Draining life from plants or creatures is dark and thematic.)
• Death Ward (Protecting a creature from death directly matches their philosophy.)
• Freedom of Movement (Removing restrictions on allies feels shamanic.)
• Greater Invisibility (A mystic Witch Doctor fading from sight fits their lore.)
• Phantasmal Killer (Creating visions of terror matches their spiritual manipulation.)

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5th Level

• Cloudkill (Creating a deadly poisonous cloud matches their toxic themes.)
• Contagion (Infecting foes with diseases fits their mastery of death and decay.)
• Insect Plague (Summoning swarms of insects aligns with their primal and spiritual nature.)
• Raise Dead (Commanding life and death is core to their identity.)
• Wall of Light (Using spiritual energy offensively fits their healer-and-harmer duality.)

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6th Level

• Circle of Death (Unleashing a wave of necrotic energy matches their power over death.)
• Create Undead (Binding spirits to bodies is deeply tied to their dark magic.)
• Heroes’ Feast (Ritual feasting and bolstering allies align with shamanic traditions.)
• Harm (Channeling destructive necrotic energy fits their darker abilities.)

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7th Level

• Etherealness (Traversing spiritual realms fits their shamanic nature.)
• Plane Shift (Traveling to other planes matches their connection to the spirit world.)
• Regenerate (Accelerating natural healing is a high-level expression of life magic.)

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8th Level

• Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting (Withering life in a large area fits their destructive aspects.)
• Control Weather (A powerful shamanic ability to manipulate nature itself.)
• Earthquake (Calling upon primal forces to devastate an area aligns with their lore.)

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9th Level

• Mass Heal (Ultimate life-restoring magic fits their pinnacle healer side.)
• Power Word Kill (A fitting capstone ability for a Witch Doctor’s control of death.)
• True Resurrection (Returning life in its purest form caps their mastery over life and death.)
• Weird (Creating horrifying illusions is both mystical and terrifying.)

Level 3: Spirit Surge

Choose one of the following effects when you activate this ability:

1. Spiritual Strike: Add necrotic damage equal to your proficiency bonus to your next weapon attack or spell attack made before the end of your turn. On a hit, the target must also succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or be frightened until the end of your next turn.

2. Empowered Spirit: Restore a spell slot of 1st level or higher, up to a level equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded up). You cannot use this effect to recover a spell slot higher than 5th level.

3. Spiritual Barrier: Gain temporary hit points equal to your Cleric level + your Wisdom modifier. These temporary hit points last for 1 minute or until depleted.

Level 6: Hexing Totem

You can expend a use of your Channel Divinity to conjure a Hexing Totem imbued with malevolent energy at a point you can see within 30 feet. The totem emits an aura of spiritual affliction in a 10-foot radius. Each creature of your choice within the area must make a Wisdom saving throw or become cursed for 1 minute. While cursed, a creature suffers the following effects:

• Disadvantage on attack rolls.
• Disadvantage on saving throws.

The Hexing Totem remains in place for the duration or until it is destroyed. The totem has AC 10 and 20 hit points, and is immune to poison and psychic damage.

Level 17: Ancestral Dominion

At 17th level, you gain the following passive benefits:

• Vengeful Spirits: Whenever a creature under a curse you placed (Example: Whispering Doom, Withering Curse, Hex, Bane, Bestow Curse, or Hexing Totem) takes damage from a spell or weapon attack, it takes an additional 1d8 necrotic damage.
• Soulshield Aura: When an ally within 10 feet of you takes damage, they can reduce the damage by your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1).