A to Z of Witches. H

H is for Hexes, Hex and Hex Girls

The word "Hex" gets thrown around a lot when dealing with witches.
A simple search shows it gets thrown around a lot here too.
I have talked about the SkyOne TV show HEX, the Skylander's character Hex, as well as The Hex Girls from Scooby Doo.  Plus there is one of my favorite movies on Witchcraft, Häxan or Witchcraft Through the Ages.

But what exactly is a Hex?

A Hex is a minor, usually malevolent spell.
In my d20 book Liber Mysterium a Hex was a witch cantrip, much the same way an Orison was was cleric cantrip.

In Pathfinder though a Hex has taken on a whole new meaning.  It is a spell like ability of a witch.
I also have used spell like abilities for witches in a number of my books, but I usually call them Occult Powers.

When working on Strange Brew I had to figure out a way to get Hexes and Occult Powers to play nice with each other.  Not always an easy task to be honest.
Fortunately there is a lot of parity between the Hexes and Occult Powers.  Regular, Grand and Major Hexes line up nicely to Minor, Medial and Greater Occult Powers.

Here are a couple that I have translated over.
All of these are presented as 100% OGC for terms of the Open Gaming License.
Section 15: "Witch Hexes", Copyright 2014 Timothy S. Brannan

Hex

Immune to Fear (Su)
The witch becomes so focused in purpose and drive that she becomes immune to the effects of mundane and natural fear.  She also gains +1 per her witch level to any checks versus magically induced fear.

Major Hex

Undetectable Presence (Su)
The witch gains the ability to pass through any terrain undetected. This extends to her party, up to 2 members plus her level. This functions as the druid spell Pass without a Trace. 

Grand Hex

Charge of the Goddess (Su)
The witch at this point is such a force for her Patron that she can summon the Goddess’ own power into herself.  The witch radiates an aura of Fear at 15’ to all her enemies.  She gains a bonus of +3 to all her saves and AC.  She also gains +2 to all offensive attack forms, spells or weapons.  This charge lasts for a number of rounds equal to the witch’s Charisma score.  It may be performed once per day and takes one full action to perform.

They worked great as Occult Powers, lets see how they work as Hexes.




Supernatural AtoZ