Venom Siphoner (Witch Archetype)
While not your typical flask and vial alchemist, witches are nevertheless commonly associated with all manner of mystical brews. Not all of which are benevolent in nature.
For every healing potion and curse-breaking concoction, there are foul potions with harmful effects, and sometimes outright poisons of a mundane or mystical nature.
We’ve covered the veneficus witch in the past, with their alchemical mastery and ability to directly hex with poison, but today we’re covering a toxin-themed witch that specializes in milking natural poisons from their familiar and in infusing themselves with the same.
These venom siphoners may have less of a supernatural poison edge, but they can be quite effective nevertheless.
Every familiar of these witches are venomous, even those that are not naturally so, their patron granting poisonous fangs, claws, or spittle to those that do not. However, those that are naturally venomous find their natural toxins are more potent and faster-acting.
The bond between familiar and witch also means they can milk this venom with relative ease.
Over time, the patron also alters the witch to be toxic too, their blood carrying the same poison as their familiar, making striking them at close range a dangerous prospect.
What’s more, they also can channel some of their venom into their spells that target the body, adding the poison to the spells already debilitating effects.
The witch spell list has its fair share of poison-based spells, so it should be no problem to create a witch focused on targeting their foes’ fortitude above all else, particularly singular targets to take advantage of adding their poison to the mix. While not able to improve poisons the way other archetypes can, their mundane poisons can be useful as well, but don’t forget to also diversify into other spells that target other saves, affect groups, and peform healing or utility purposes as well. While there is no specifically poison-themed patron, plenty deal in natural forms of debilitation.
Whether they deal only in poisons, or also in healing magic, these mystics can certainly reward their enemies with a bad time. Naturally venomous familiars are a natural choice due to the buff, but the supernatural nature of normally non-toxic creatures may appeal to some.
Old Magera is well-known for her potions, but also her cantankerous sickly-looking cat that has an odd smell to it. She dotes on the beast, however, and those that cross them often end up terribly ill.
An assassin of necromancers, Nodd the duskwalker utilizes her magics and her poisonous pet spider to give a poignant reminder of mortality to those who would seek to escape it through lichdom or other foul arts.
The rivalry between Belindra Wicker-Weaver and Korban the Black Tongue has gone silent, and nervously, locals wish to know why. In truth, the two had finally killed each other nearly simultaneously, the former by the latter’s dweomer cap familiar’s enhanced spores, the other by a soulbound doll assassin, leaving both their homes and works to fester and sit unclaimed.