A Green Thumb: Exploring the Plant Witch Subclass in Dnd 5e

One popular subclass in the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition (Dnd 5e) game is the witch subclass. The witch subclass offers players a unique and magical playstyle that focuses on the use of spells and hexes to control the battlefield and manipulate their enemies. With a mix of offensive and defensive abilities, the witch subclass can be a formidable addition to any adventuring party. **The main idea:** The witch subclass in Dnd 5e offers players a unique and magical playstyle focused on spells and hexes to control the battlefield and manipulate enemies..

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D&D 5E So Where my Witches at?

Tasha's Cauldron got me thinking, where (or what) is the Witch in D&D (5e)?

Tasha is stated to be a witch. Commonly, "witches" are represented by the warlock class. There are "witch" invocations (such as witch sight) that back up the theme, and their spells are witch-y with things like hex and witch bolt. However, Tasha comes off sounding much more like a traditional wizard from her commentary, speaking of spell research and wizard academies. Seems to me WotC missed an excellent opportunity to have a "witch" wizard subclass (with all the potion-brewing, hexing, and toad-making that comes with it) but then again, isn't that the warlock's domain? And that mostly just covers the classic Halloween witch, which is to say nothing about the more traditional "nature mage" that the Pathfinder witch and 4e Witch classes filled. Again, you might argue a fey warlock kindasorta fills that niche, but there is probably some design space here (especially as a subclass for druids or sorcerers) that could have been used.

I guess I kinda feel that if you are going to make a product that features an important D&D witch, you ought to, ya know, put some witch-stuff in the book?

Lanefan

Victoria Rules

Witch classes have been tried for ages - I remember one or two going by in early Dragon magazines - and have for whatever reason never caught on.

Further, using Witch as a class name risks offending parts of the sometimes-quick-to-take-offense neo-Pagan movement if there's anything the least bit negative about the class; and I very much suspect WotC are well aware of this.

Retreater

Legend

That, and all the hubbub about Harry Potter amongst some communities due to their use of "witch" to describe a female wizard. The term has a history that would alienate gamers in many walks of life, whether they feel this is anti-Christian, anti-Pagan, or something else.
I say, just leave it as a warlock and it works fine.

Remathilis

Legend

Witch classes have been tried for ages - I remember one or two going by in early Dragon magazines - and have for whatever reason never caught on.

Further, using Witch as a class name risks offending parts of the sometimes-quick-to-take-offense neo-Pagan movement if there's anything the least bit negative about the class; and I very much suspect WotC are well aware of this.

I'm not sure about the latter; neo-paganism hasn't bothered them enough to remove the Druid.

But yes, there hasn't been a true "witch" class that truly took off. There was an NPC class (1e), a wizard kit (2e), and a 4e wizard subclass, (I don't think there was ever a proper 3e witch, though PF made one) but I think its a strong enough archetype that it could at least warrant a subclass with the "samurai and knight" treatment.

Faolyn

(she/her)

Remathilis

Legend

You could make the same argument about paladin, ranger, or druid, not to mention necromancer, assassin, or cavalier.

Lanefan

Victoria Rules

Only due to timing: Druid was in as a class before the neo-Pagan movement really got up any steam and thus had/has precedent on its side.

Were they to try and introduce 'Druid' as a new class today it'd get shot down for both this reason and that it's too tied to one specific culture and thus could be seen as non-inclusive.

But yes, there hasn't been a true "witch" class that truly took off. There was an NPC class (1e), a wizard kit (2e), and a 4e wizard subclass, (I don't think there was ever a proper 3e witch, though PF made one) but I think its a strong enough archetype that it could at least warrant a subclass with the "samurai and knight" treatment.

Pretty sure there was more than one proposed Witch class in Dragon during the 1980s. Maybe one was the NPC class and another was a trial balloon for a PC class?

Enevhar Aldarion

Hero

Witch classes have been tried for ages - I remember one or two going by in early Dragon magazines - and have for whatever reason never caught on.

Further, using Witch as a class name risks offending parts of the sometimes-quick-to-take-offense neo-Pagan movement if there's anything the least bit negative about the class; and I very much suspect WotC are well aware of this.

No, males in the real world who consider themselves witches are much more offended by being called a warlock, and it's negative meaning, whether the modern meaning was once historically not accurate. Don't ever label someone who takes this seriously as an oath breaker. As for Witch, you have to deal with the stereotype that only females can be witches, so in the early days of D&D, when the vast majority of players were male, of course a Witch class failed.

Alzrius

The EN World kitten

As others have noted, official D&D has always had a hard time getting a witch character role off the ground; it's not that there haven't been attempts (there've been many), it's just that none have really caught on. Conceptually, the niche remains unfulfilled, which is why the community keeps trying with everything ranging from new classes to warlock patrons to wizard traditions.

Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.

Weiley31

Legend

Witch as a class is more a Pathfinder type deal since its in it.(On the other side of the coin, the Pathfinder 2E Witch is more like the Warlock in the fact that both the Warlock/Witch has/deal with a Patron.)

Plus the Witch brings up the image of the Hag. Which is its own buckets of apples in DND.

Blue Orange

Gone to Texas

There was a semi-official version in the 3e DMG that consisted of just a spell list as I recall, in addition to the 2e kit, Pathfinder, and the 4e wizard subclass and the various Dragon magazine, third-party, and homebrew versions produced throughout the various editions. (Where was the 1e NPC class? There was a witch-doctor for goblinoids that had some cleric and mage spells. )

The warlock in D&D is a little different, though--it's much more offense-oriented, and is actually closer to the older idea of the witch as someone who made a pact with the devil. The idea of "potion-brewing, hexing, and toad-making" rural spellcaster, which could be good or evil, is more of a 'hedge mage', someone who lives in the country and doesn't have access to the complicated scholastic training of the wizard but does minor magics for (or against) their local community, has become somewhat separate. Somewhere between wizard and druid.

I also suspect that it's usually seen as more of a minor character and people aren't as familiar with what the epic endgame would look like--we have a pretty good idea of the legendary warrior, high priest, or archmage, but nobody's really sure what a 20th-level witch would look like.

You could clarify that it's open to any gender and have art examples. And there's no reason it has to be evil-only. Even warlocks can be any alignment, and they've sold their souls to something.

Beginner players and game masters may find the book descriptions, design, layout, and illustrations pleasing.

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Reviews for "A Pact with Darkness: Multiclassing the Witch Subclass with Warlock in Dnd 5e"

1. Sarah - 2 stars

I was really excited to try out the witch subclass in Dnd 5e, but I was ultimately disappointed. The abilities and spells that the subclass offers are lackluster and don't feel as powerful or versatile as other subclasses. Additionally, the role-playing aspect of being a witch didn't feel well-integrated into the game mechanics. Overall, I feel like the witch subclass needs some major improvements to make it more exciting and enjoyable to play.

2. Tom - 3 stars

I had high hopes for the witch subclass in Dnd 5e, but it fell short of my expectations. While the theme and flavor of a witch character are intriguing, the subclass lacks depth and meaningful choices. The abilities and spells seem underwhelming compared to other subclasses, and there is a missed opportunity for more interesting and unique mechanics. It's not a terrible subclass, but it definitely needs some refining to make it stand out among the rest.

3. Emma - 2 stars

I found the witch subclass in Dnd 5e to be quite underwhelming. The abilities and spells didn't feel particularly unique or powerful. Furthermore, I was disappointed with the lack of customization options for my character. It felt like there were limited choices to make when leveling up, and I quickly grew bored with the subclass. Overall, I would not recommend the witch subclass unless it receives some significant updates and improvements.

Wicked Witchcraft: A Guide to the Wicked Witch Subclass in Dnd 5e