Retributive Curses

Witches are quick to punish those who wrong them. A creature becomes a target for retribution when it transgresses against you in one of the following ways:

• Harm: The creature attacks or deals damage to you, your familiar, or a creature holding a token or talisman you created.
• Threat: The creature forces you to make a saving throw.
• Betrayal: The creature intentionally breaks a promise to you.
  As a Reaction when a creature within 60 feet of you commits such a transgression, you can place one of the following curses on it:
• Bloodguilt - The first time on a turn that the target deals damage to another creature, it takes Psychic damage equal to 1d6 + your Proficiency Bonus.
• Leaden Shoes - The target’s movement speed is reduced to 5 feet and it can’t make Opportunity Attacks.
• Uncanny Jinx - Whenever the target makes a check, saving throw, or attack, it must subtract 1d4 from the total.
• Vengeful Gleam - The target glows with a green witch-light that sheds Dim Light in a 5-foot radius. It can’t benefit from the Invisible condition, and attacks against it have Advantage if the attacker can see it.

The curse lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if the cursed creature dies, you apply a different Retributive Curse to the creature, or you choose to end the curse as an action.
You can use this feature twice, and regain expended uses when you finish a Short or Long Rest. If you or your allies initiated a fight with the creature, it can make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. On a successful save, the curse has no effect but you don't expend a use of this feature

GM Sidebar: A Witch’s Grudge
Sometimes circumstances arise in which a creature transgresses against a witch who isn’t present or is unable to exact retribution in the moment—for example, if someone breaks a promise to the witch while she isn’t present, or strikes her and knocks her unconscious. In these cases, it makes sense for the DM to rule that a Witch can use their Retributive Curse feature against the creature the next time the Witch enters combat against it.
Moreover, some acts are so egregious to the cosmic balance that they warrant a more lasting punishment. A trusted ally’s betrayal of their bond, the theft of an especially portentous artifact, or bringing violence to a place of lasting peace all might earn the transgressor an enduring curse. Using their narrative discretion, the GM may rule that the effects of a Retributive Curse last longer than 1 minute: a lunar cycle, a year and a day, or even indefinitely. In such cases, righting the wrong usually ends the curse, as do other means of cursebreaking.

Witch Subclass

You gain a Witch subclass of your choice, joining a coven of witches whose magic resonates with your craft. A subclass is a specialization that grants you features at certain Witch levels. For the rest of your career, you gain each of your subclass’s features that are of your Witch level or lower.

Ability Score Improvement

You gain the Ability Score Improvement feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify. You gain this feature again at Witch levels 8, 12, 16, and 19

Witchcraft Talismans

When you put your back into your craft and devote a little part of yourself to what you’re making, you can weave your magic into a talisman that will last forever. Many witches make talismans of clothing, though brooms, athames, keys, and tools are also popular—especially brooms as a means of fantastical conveyance for the witch themself.

Most witches craft talismans specifically for companions, heroes, loved ones, or younger witches under their tutelage, but some guard their talismans jealously. As an action while you can see a talisman, you can recover the sacrificed spell slot. The talisman ceases to be a magic item, and you regain that spell slot the next time you finish a Long Rest. Similarly, if the talisman is destroyed, you regain the spell slot when you finish your next Long Rest.

You always know the distance and direction to a talisman you created while you are on the same plane of existence. You can create the following kinds of talisman:

• Instilled Spell - Any Witch spell that doesn’t require a costly Material component can be crafted into a talisman if you have an unexpended spell slot of a high enough level to cast it (you need not have the spell prepared). To craft a talisman, you must spend 24 hours of labor (this time need not be continuous) and make a DC 20 Wisdom check using Artisan’s Tools. On a success, you permanently sacrifice a spell slot of the spell’s level to complete the talisman.
  A creature holding the talisman can cast that spell from it, using your spell save DC, spell attack bonus, and spellcasting ability. Once the talisman is used to cast its spell, it can’t be used that way again until the next dawn. You can add more spells to a talisman, or more uses of the same spell, with an additional 24 hours of labor, an other Wisdom check using Artisan’s Tools, and another sacrificed spell slot of the appropriate level.
• Create Magic Item - Alternatively, you can sacrifice a level 3+ spell slot to craft an item from the Common and Uncommon Items table, or a level 6+ spell slot to craft an item from the Rare Items table. New magic items that Witches can craft as talismans are marked with an asterisk and detailed in the “New Magic Items” section at the end of this class.

Willful Sanctum

A witch’s labor bears so much of their connection to magic that the very sticks, stones, walls, and hearth of their dwelling respond. You can spend 8 hours fashioning a place where you’ve taken a Long Rest into a sanctum. If the place is already owned or inhabited, you must have permission from its owner to reside there. You determine the boundaries of your sanctum, but you must be able to traverse its perimeter in an hour or less (alternatively, it must fit in a 2,000-foot-radius area).

If you have a sanctum that’s at least 7 days old, your presence helps ward it against magical and spiritual prying; you can cast Private Sanctum within your sanctum without Material components. You always have Private Sanctum prepared.

You can only have one sanctum at a time. Whenever you fashion a new sanctum, your old sanctum goes dormant, and if you decide to restore it, it takes another 8 hours of labor and another 7 days to regain its full power. If you designate a new sanctum, any Private Sanctum you cast on a previous sanctum with this feature immediately ends.

Improved Tokens

You can create tokens using level 2 spells.

Improved Retribution

When you curse a target with your Retributive Curses feature, the curse now lasts for up to 10 minutes. Moreover, you gain the following additional curse options:

• Shared Suffering - The target has the Poisoned condition for 1 minute. Each time it casts a spell or forces another creature to make a saving throw, it takes 1d8 + your Proficiency Bonus Poison damage.
• Enervation - The target subtracts 1d8 from all its damage rolls.
• Muzzle - The target can’t use bite attacks or breath weapons, and it can’t cast spells that require Verbal components.
• Painful Reflection - The next time the target deals damage to a creature, it gains Vulnerability to one type of damage dealt (your choice) until the curse ends.

Hallowed Sanctum

You always have Hallow prepared. You can cast it without Material components on one area within your sanctum. Additionally, a creature that tries to force its way into this area has Disadvantage on the Charisma saving throw it makes to ignore the spell’s effects. If you designate a new sanctum, any Hallow spell you cast on a previous sanctum with this feature immediately ends.
You can also always have Word of Recall prepared and can cast it with your sanctum as the spell’s designated sanctuary

Greater Tokens

You can create tokens using level 3 spells.

Greater Retribution

When you curse a target with your Retributive Curses feature, the curse now lasts for up to 1 hour. Moreover, you gain the following additional curse option:

• Humbling Hex - You cast Polymorph on the target without expending a spell slot. On a failed save, you transform it into a Beast with Challenge Rating 0 that can survive in its current environment. When you cast Polymorph in this way, it doesn’t require Concentration.

Shifting Sanctum

You always have Imprisonment prepared and can cast it without Material components while you are in your sanctum. You also always have Demiplane prepared and can cast it once in your sanctum with a duration of Permanent.

True Craft

You can now create a token or talisman using a spell of level 8 or lower. Additionally, the spell you choose can be from any class list, but you must expend (or risk, in the case of tokens) a spell slot one level higher than the spell you choose.