SNOW WITCH

[The Hive Mind]

Hiding in the rocky highlands of the Veradeen, living in secret cottages, and tending to ancient rings of standing stones erected by the elthedar, are the snow witches. Once a sisterhood of guides and protectors, the snow witches of the Last Age are a scattered lot. It’s rare, now, that snow witches convene to share stories, swap news, and discuss their purpose. The war against the Shadow in the Second Age took the life of every snow witch alive at the time; modern snow witches are striving to make sense of the order’s old texts and runes. The sisterhood is known to have been dedicated to the protection and secrecy of power nexuses throughout the Veradeen, but many of the powerful sites the witches should be guarding—some of the most potent in Eredane—have been forgotten. Today, snow witches strive to protect the magic and people of northern Erethor without exposing their tradtion to extermination again.

Traditionally, snow witches are female.

Hit Die: d8



Requirements

Alignment: Cannot be lawful evil, neutral evil or chaotic evil.
Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks, Knowledge (nature) 4 ranks, Spellcraft 4 ranks, Survival 4 ranks.
Feats: Endurance, Magecraft, Spellcasting (any).
Special: Must reach the top of the Keep on the Glacier or spend one winter's night within a ring of standing stones in the Veradeen without blankets, fire, gloves, boots, hats, or spells.

Class Level / Base Attack Bonus / Fort Save / Ref Save / Will Save / Special
1st -------------------+0 -------------+2 --------+0 -------+2 ------Way of the snow witch +2, art of magic, improved spellcasting
2nd -------------------+1 -------------+3 --------+0 ------+3 -------Resistance to cold 5
3rd -------------------+1 -------------+3 ---------+1 ------+3 ------Like Snowfall
4th -------------------+2 -------------+4 --------+1 ------+4 -------Cloak of snow, way of the snow witch +4
5th -------------------+2 -------------+4 --------+1 ------+4 -------Resistance to cold 10
6th -------------------+3 -------------+5 --------+2 ------+5 -------House of summer
7th -------------------+3 -------------+5 --------+2 ------+5 -------Control weather 1/day
8th -------------------+4 -------------+6 --------+2 ------+6 -------Resistance to cold 15
9th -------------------+4 -------------+6 --------+3 ------+6 -------Aura of winter
10th ------------------+5 -------------+7 --------+3 ------+7 -------Immunity to cold, control weather 2/day

Class Skills: Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (arcana)(Int), Knowledge (nature)(Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Speak Language (n/a), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Snow witches gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Way of the Snow Witch (Ex): A snow witch endures weather to appreciate the beauty of the Veradeen and to survive. Thus, she quickly develops an endurance against all weather effects. At 1st level, the snow witch gains a +2 bonus to all saving throws to resist weather effects and all naturally occurring types of energy damage, including lava and lightning. Effects created or provokes by a spell (such as call lightning) are not naturally occuring. At 4th level, this bonus increases to +4.

The arcane path of the snow witch is highly ritualized; all snow witches learn the same spells. Each level, the snow witch learns every spell on the following list that she is of sufficient level to cast. She can cast any spell on this list, even if she doesn't have the appropriate feat for the spell's school. These spells are learned in addition to the spells she gains every three levels through improved spellcasting.

0 Level--Detect magic, ray of frost.
1st Level--Chill touch, obscuring mist.
2nd Level--Gust of wind, levitate, weather.
3rd Level--Quench, sleet storm, wind wall.
4th Level--Air walk, ice storm.
5th Level--Cone of cold, control winds.
6th Level--Freezing sphere, mislead, wind walk.
7th Level--Control weather.
8th Level--Polar ray, whirlwind.
9th Level--Storm of vengeance.

Improved Spellcasting (Ex): For every three snow witch levels the character achieves, she gains one new spell of any school and level she can cast (according to her new level). The snow witch can gain additional spells as per the normal rules for learning spells.

A snow witch's effective caster level increases by one. This affects level-related spell effects, caster level checks, and the level of spells that the character can learn. It does not grant her any bonus spells or spell energy.

Snow witch levels stack with channeler levels for the purposes of determining the highest-level spells the character can cast. A character with more channeler and snow witch levels than levels in other classes adds +1 to her character level to determine the highest-level spells she can cast. For example, a chn5/snw3/wld7 can cast up to 8th-level spells.

Art of Magic (Ex): The snow witch gains spell energy equal to her class level each day. This bonus spell energy stacks with that gained from the Magecraft feat and channeler levels.

Like Snowfall (Sp): At 3rd level, the snow witch develops powers through her study of falling snow. She is permanently affected by a pass without trace spell, unless she wishes to be tracked. She may also use feather fall three times per day as a spell-like ability. Activating these effects is a free action for the snow witch.

Cloak of Snow (Su): beginning at 4th level, the snow witch may use the weather spell at will as a supernatural ability, affecting only the space she occupies. This ability functions only if the snow witch is outdoors.

House of Summer (Su): At 6th level, the snow witch is able to offer protection to friends and allies from the cold of the Veradeen. Once per day, the snow witch may use secure shelter, this cottage (and those inside) are totally unaffected by natural weather conditions, including heat and cold.

Control Weather (Sp): At 7th level, the snow witch can control weather once per day as a spell-like ability, as though she were a druid of the same level. At 10th level, the snow witch can use this ability twice per day.

Aura of Winter (Su): At 9th level, the snow witch becomes master of her own climate. With a standard action, up to twice per day, she may dictate the exact temperature of a 20-ft. radius area centered on herself, with related effects (such as ice and mud) developing in the next round. Within this area, she may use weather up to three times per day as a spell-like ability, even when indoors. The aura of winter remains for up to one hour per level, though the snow witch can dismiss the effect at will; temperatures then slowly return to normal.