The Witch, a Homebrew DnD 5e Class

Hey all,

As someone with an interest in game design and several 5e campaigns running, I found myself looking to create a new class for in-fiction and personal interest reasons. I started working on the Witch a while back, but I wanted to get the data out in front of some other tabletop players now that I've polished the first few levels.

Here it is (on my blog): http://www.n3rddimension.com/2016/05/29/the-witch-a-homebrew-5e-class/

If anyone gets some time, please let me know if you have any comments or criticisms. If you are interested in perhaps playtesting the class a bit, I could probably be convinced to run a one-shot on here or something (I've been trying not to run MORE games, but it'd be worth it for some playtesting!).

Thanks to anyone who takes a look!

I would limit the amount of ritual enhancements a witch has access to (2 to start, another 1 every 3-4 levels). Split focus might be a bit strong for a second level ability. All of the spirit abilities are very strong. I would consider limiting them somehow more than just spirit summons per day. That arcanoform could almost be a class in and of itself.

So direct criticisms aside, this looks like it took a lot of work and thought. I think it still craves more balance and I would look to the other arcane spellcasting classes to find it. Sorcerors have their spell points, Warlocks have spell limits, Wizards have their power curve. This class is very front heavy. I would splash two or three levels of this for any arcane caster simply for the duel concentration. A few more tweaks and you'll get it.

Sounds good.

Everything I've designed for games ends up a bit OP at first. :P Thanks for some recommendations on how to tune it down.

Hey there, DJForclosure! On first look, the witch is very promising, but as themightykobold pointed out a few of the options are very overpowered. I'll try to mention things in the order you encounter them on your blog post.

• The spell slots are way low for any casting class. From your table—and the progression—it looks like the witch is going to be a full casting class. I would stick with the full casting progression of slots, otherwise their spellpower is going to suck compared to even a half-class like the paladin or ranger.
• Inexorable ritual seems way too good. A piddly +2 at 1st level, but a +6 at 17th level. I'd watch it closely
• Devastating ritual need to be nerfed—bad! That's a 6d8 thunderwave at 1st level! Some suggestions: add Int mod to damage, add Prof bonus to damage, increase the dice based on the level of the spell (so only +1 die for a 1st level spell, +4 for a 4th level spell)
• All curses need to be nerfed. An auto effect with no save? That doesn't happen in 5e.
• Spirit focus needs to go. There is nothing in 5e that lets you concentrate on two spells at once. No magic item, no class feature, no feat, nothing. This is as overpowered as it gets. Instead, how about having it grant you an auto-success on the first concentration check you make?
•The spiritbinder's bind spirit section could use some clarification. I'd suggest looking at the way the beastmaster ranger is written, and use similar verbage. In addition, there is no such thing as a move action in 5e: you have an action, a bonus action, and a reaction. Speaking of movement, what is the speed of the spirit, and what's its reach? It might behoove you to write up a stat block for it. Lastly, it's an opportunity attack, not an attack of opportunity (sorry, but a pet peeve of mine. It's been an OA for two editions now :p)


That's all I have for now. Hope it's helpful ^_^

-EF