Mentor (Pathfinder Witch Archetype)
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Mentor[edit]
This is an archetype of the Witch class.
There comes a time when a witch’s best means of serving their patron is by initiating a new follower into their service. Rather than taking on a familiar, the mentor seeks out individuals with magical potential and trains them in their ways. Bards tell many stories of these relationships, like Paddock Green and her mentor, Toad the Frog, a pair of boggard and grippli witches of the post-Calling era.
Mentor Witch Features[edit]
Heir (Ex): At 1st level, a mentor acquires the services of an heir to their powers. This functions similarly to a cohort, though the heir begins as a 1st-level commoner with Magical Aptitude as their 1st-level feat and NPC ability scores (13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 before racial modifiers). When the mentor reaches 3rd level, if their Leadership score is at least 2, the heir becomes a 1st-level witch and gains heroic ability scores (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 before racial modifiers). The heir does not gain a familiar or patron; they can take a witch archetype, but cannot select one with a class feature which would replace or alter patrons or familiars. The heir can never gain a familiar from feats, but qualifies for feats as if they possessed a familiar. The heir never gains item creation feats, but otherwise follows the normal rules for a cohort.
Each time the mentor gains a level, they can dismiss their existing heir as graduated (or expelled, depending on their performance), and gain a new cohort following the same rules. If an heir dies in service to the mentor, the mentor takes a –2 penalty to their Leadership score. This penalty is reduced by 1 for every level the mentor gains after the death, to a minimum of 0.
Because cohorts are most interested in the mentor’s magical ability, the mentor uses their Intelligence modifier, rather than Charisma, to determine their Leadership score. At 7th level, a mentor can select the Leadership feat—using their Intelligence modifier to determine their Leadership score—but doing so only provides followers, never a second cohort.
Because neither the mentor nor their heir gains a familiar, they instead store their spells in spellbooks, similar to a wizard, and must prepare their spells as a wizard does. They otherwise learn and cast spells as normal. This does not count as altering spellcasting for the purpose of taking archetypes.
This replaces the mentor’s familiar and the heir’s familiar and patron spells.
Inherent Magic (Su): The heir treats their mentor as if they were a patron. When the heir reaches 2nd level, select one 1st level spell the mentor possesses, and the heir gains access to that spell as if it was a patron spell. This can be a spell gained from the mentor’s own patron or any spell they possess which their heir does not (including non-witch spells). Once this choice is made, it cannot be changed, and the chosen spell can never be replaced when the mentor gains a level. This is done for every even-numbered level beyond 2nd the heir gains, with them gaining a spell of a level equal to 1/2 the heir’s witch levels. If the heir is ever replaced, the new heir can only gain the same spells through this ability that were chosen for the previous heir.
This ability replaces the hex gained at 4th level.
Familiar Form (Sp): At 6th level, choose a type of familiar. Once this choice is made it cannot be changed unless the mentor’s heir is replaced. The mentor can transform themselves into this form, acting as a temporary familiar for their heir for 1 minute per mentor level they possess. This duration can be split up, but must be used in 1-minute increments. They cannot choose a familiar from the Improved Familiar list unless the heir possesses the Improved Familiar feat and meets the requirements to take that type of familiar.
While in this form, the mentor effectively is their heir’s familiar, except it remains a PC under the player’s full control, uses the mentor’s mental scores, and benefits from all items they had equipped. These items meld into their form, allowing them to benefit even if they normally could not use such items in the chosen form, but they cannot access any activated abilities such items possess, and are not treated as wielding any weapons they were wielding outside their familiar form. If the mentor ever falls unconscious while in this form, the duration of this ability immediately ends.
This is considered a polymorph effect, but ignores any immunity to polymorph effects the mentor possesses.
This replaces the 6th level hex.
Patron Form (Su): At 20th level, the mentor can choose to perform a ritual to ascend to patronhood, effectively giving up their mortal life in the process. This process takes 8 hours and requires 50,000 gp in materials and the participation of the mentor’s heir. When they complete this ritual, their heir gains a permanent familiar of the same type as that chosen for the mentor’s familiar form ability (transferring all spells from their spellbook to the familiar in the process) and treats the mentor as their patron for all purposes (continuing to learn patron spells as per the inherent magic ability). If the heir wills it, they can become a conduit for the mentor’s soul, allowing them to become a PC under the mentor’s player’s control. The exact nature of the ritual, as well as how the player comes to control the heir as a PC, can vary depending on the patron, and is up to the GM and player to determine.
This replaces the 20th level hex.
Original Source Witches of Porphyra
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