The material below is Open Game Content
Paths of Power
| Author | Katheryn Bauer, Sean O’Connor, Connie J. Thomson, Robert W. Thomson, Patricia Willenborg |
| Publisher | 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming |
| Publish date | 2009 |
| OGL Section 15 | paths-of-power |
Seer
Most witches on the path of the seer found themselves on the path as children, already able to see things before they happened, or know things about people that they should not have been able to know. Some trained their mind’s eye to foresee the future or look into the past. However they came to their skills, witches of the seer tradition often make their livings as fortune tellers or oracles.
Familiar Types: The seer witch can choose her familiar from the owl, raven and toad.
Bonus Spells: detect chaos/evil/good/law (4th), augury (6th), scrying (8th), divination (10th), true seeing (12th), scrying, greater (14th), vision (16th), discern location (18th), foresight (20th).
Bonus Feats: Craft Wondrous Item, Heighten Spell, Iron Will, Skill Focus: Sense Motive, Spell Focus: Divination, Spell Penetration.
Circle Power: Focusing Circle - Whenever you are within a circle you have cast, the subject of any scrying attempt you make receives a -5 penalty to its Will save. In addition, you receive a +5 bonus to your Intelligence check to avoid a decrease in Intelligence and Charisma whenever you cast contact other plane within your circle.
Rites: Seer witch rites give guidance to the witch, make her immune to scrying attempts and grant her the ability to see all things as they really are. Some seer rites only affect the witch so long as she remains within her circle, but others grant her powers even after she leaves the circle. All of a seer witch’s rites must be performed inside a circle she has already cast, and multiple rites can be performed, one after another, within the same circle, until the circle’s duration expires. If the circle’s duration will expire before another rite can be
completed, the witch must break her current circle and cast a new one.
Guidance of the Spirits (Su): At 5th level, the seer learns the guidance of the spirits rite. With this rite, the seer asks the spirits to guide her hand in a variety of tasks she may perform over the course of the day. The witch begins by casting her circle, then sits within it to softly chant for 15 minutes and ask the spirits for guidance. At the end of the 15 minutes the spirits grant the witch a +5 bonus to all Appraise, Craft, Knowledge, Perform, Profession and Survival skill checks. The bonus lasts for 1 hour per 2 witch levels. The witch can leave her circle at the end of the rite and still benefit from the skill bonus.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind (Su): At 9th level, the witch learns the out of sight, out of mind rite. Through this rite, the witch is able to hide herself from the attempts of others to scry her. The witch first casts a circle, then she sits within the circle and chants softly, asking the spirits to mask her body and shield her mind from others. The rite takes 30 minutes to perform, and at the end of that time the witch becomes immune to all attempts to scry her. Anyone that attempts to locate her through divine magic simply cannot locate her; it is as if the witch no longer exists.
The power of the rite lasts for 1 hour per witch level, and the witch can leave her circle at the end of the rite and still benefit from the power.
Searching the Past (Su): At 13th level, the witch learns the searching the past rite. With the power of this rite, the witch is able to peer into the past in areas that she scrys, seeing what may have transpired there earlier. The witch casts her circle, then she sits within it and chants softly, asking the spirits to open her eyes and mind, allowing her to catch glimpses of the past. The rite takes 45 minutes to perform, and at the end of the rite the witch gains the ability to look backward into the past up to 72 hours on any location she can scry (whether with a spell or a magic item), as per the spell scrying.
The witch must remain within her circle to use the power of this rite, and if her circle expires, so do the powers of this rite.
Soothsaying (Su): At 17th level, the witch learns the soothsaying rite. This is a powerful rite that gives the seer the ability to catch glimpses of the future. This power is dangerous, however, in that the witch is not always able to know exactly how far into the future she sees, nor is she always able to correctly interpret the meaning of what she sees. The witch begins by casting her circle, then for the next hour she sits within the circle and silently prays for guidance, asking the spirits to allow her to see the future. The witch is not able to ask to look for a specific time and place in the future, and the spirits grant her what they wish. In fact, sometimes the spirits are fickle and choose not to show her anything at all.
To determine what the witch sees of the future, the GM should secretly make two checks for her — a Wisdom check determines how far into the future the witch peers and an Intelligence check determines how well she interprets what she sees. The results of her Wisdom and Intelligence checks are shown in Table 1-7. If a natural 1 is rolled on either check, the result is a false vision — nothing in the vision will actually come true, though the witch is not aware of this (though she may figure this out as time passes).
The GM must do some legwork to determine the specific nature of what the witch sees. It can be as simple as “You see your friend Norgi cut down in the market place sometime in the next week.” Naturally, some events can be avoided — just because the witch sees them does not mean that it will absolutely happen in the manner she sees it. She could be seeing a future that is the result of inaction, but actions taken by her and her heroic companions can alter the outcome. Soothsaying is taxing to the witch, and the rite can only be performed once per month (though it may be performed at any time of the month). The witch is always left exhausted at the end of the rite because of the mental stress.
The Rite of Knowledge (Su): At 20th level, the seer learns the rite of knowledge. Through this rite the seer is able to see things as they truly are and is able to communicate telepathically with others. The witch casts her circle, then sits within it and chants softly, asking the spirits to clear her mind, open her eyes and grant her the power to see and hear all
things. The rite takes 2 full hours to perform and at the end of the rite the witch’s eyes cloud over, giving them a milky-white appearance. At the same time, she gains the ability to see all things as they truly are. She can see through magical darkness as well as normal darkness, she can spot doors and passageways hidden by magic, she is not affected by creatures
with blur or displacement effects upon them, she can see invisible creatures, ignore illusions, and see polymorphed creatures in their true form.
In addition, the witch gains the ability to link her mind telepathically with any one other creature within 100 feet of her. The creature must have an Intelligence of 6 or higher, and the creature receives a Will save (DC 10 + ½ witch level + Wisdom bonus) to resist the connection. The witch can attempt to connect to a creature as a free action, and can break
the connection as an immediate action. The witch can attempt to connect with an unlimited number of people each day, but only one person at a time.
Both powers of the rite remain with the witch for one month. The rite of knowledge can only be performed once per month, and must be performed under a first quarter moon. If it is performed at any other time, the rite has no effect.
Table 1-7: Soothhsaying Results
| Wisdom Check | Intelligence Check | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| DC | Result | DC | Result |
| 5 or less | Failure | 5 or less | Extremely vague |
| 6 to 10 | 1 day | 6 to 10 | Few details of the area, no time period |
| 11 to 15 | 1 week | 11 to 15 | Some details, some people, no time period |
| 16 to 20 | 1 month | 16 to 20 | Good details, rough time period |
| 21 to 25 | 1 year | 21 to 25 | Lots of detail, a general time period |
| 26+ | GM’s choice | 26+ | Full details |
GM’s Suggestion
Soothsaying can be used as a great tool for motivating players. By giving the witch a vision of horrible things that may transpire in the future, the players may feel an increased need to do whatever it takes to prevent the future from transpiring in that manner. Soothsaying witch NPCs can make really good sources of information and drive for the PCs!
