Pathfinder Reference Document
Pathfinder Reference Document

Witchfire

Bathed in sickly green flames, this insubstantial specter of a beautiful young woman floats just off the ground.

Witchfire CR 9

XP 6,400

CE Medium undead (incorporeal)

Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +16

Defense

AC 24, touch 24, flat-footed 17 (+7 deflection, +6 Dex, +1 dodge)

hp 115 (10d8+70)

Fort +10, Ref +11, Will +10

Defensive Abilities incorporeal, witchflame, Immune fire, undead traits

Offense

Speed fly 50 ft. (perfect)

Melee incorporeal touch +13 (8d6 fire plus witchflame)

Ranged witchflame bolt +13 (8d6 fire plus witchflame)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9th; concentration +16)

At will—dancing lights, disguise self, ghost sound (DC 17), invisibility, pyrotechnics (DC 19), ray of enfeeblement (DC 18)

1/day—summon (level 4, 2 will-o'-wisps 50%)

Statistics

Str —, Dex 22, Con —, Int 17, Wis 16, Cha 25

Base Atk +7; CMB +13; CMD 31

Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility

Skills Bluff +17, Fly +14, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (any two) +13, Perception +16, Sense Motive +16, Stealth +19

Languages Auran, Common, Giant

SQ sound mimicry (animal noises)

Ecology

Environment any swamps or woodlands

Organization solitary or coven (3 witchfires and hags—see below)

Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Witchflame (Su) Any creature damaged by the incorporeal touch or ranged bolt attacks of a witchfire must succeed on a DC 22 Will save or become engulfed in sickly green flames. While these eerie flames deal no additional damage, the affected creature glows as per faerie fire and becomes sickened. While under the effects of the witchflame, the victim gains vulnerability to fire and takes half again as much damage (+50%) from fire attacks of any sort. This effect persists for 10 minutes. The supernatural flames can only be extinguished before this duration expires by a break enchantment, miracle, remove curse, or wish spell—the effective caster level of the witchflame is equal to the witchfire's HD (CL 10th for most witchfires). Any creature entering the same square as a witchfire or striking it with a melee attack must succeed on a DC 22 Will save or begin burning with witchflame, even if the attack would not otherwise harm the witchfire because of its incorporeal nature. A bolt of witchflame has a range of 60 feet with no range increment. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

When an exceptionally vile hag or witch dies with some malicious plot left incomplete, or proves too horridly tenacious to succumb to the call of death, the foul energies of these wicked old crones sometimes spawn incorporeal undead known as witchfires. These ghostly creatures appear much as they did in life, although the grotesque undead energy that births them makes them appear young and attractive and wreathes their insubstantial bodies in a powerful aura of sickly green flame, a ghostly fire referred to as "witchflame" in local legends.

Strings of will-o'-wisps are often found in the immediate vicinity of witchfires and are typically led by the undead, leading scholars to speculate that the creatures feed off of a witchfire's flames and fury.

Witchfire Covens

Witchfires occasionally join or subjugate existing hag covens (see page 167 of the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary). A hag coven that includes a witchfire gains the following additional coven spell-like abilities: 3/day—blight, create undead, fire storm (DC 21), nightmare (DC 18), waves of exhaustion (DC 20). All abilities function at CL 9th, and save DCs are based on a Charisma score of 16. The use of these abilities functions identically to other coven abilities. Such covens must have at least one living hag, as covens of three witchfires gain no coven-related abilities.