Coven Feats
Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting edition of Extraordinary Feats, where each week we bring you new and exciting feats. This week we’re celebrating one of our classic releases: A Necromancer’s Grimoire: Secrets of the Witch, which you can pick up right now for half the normal price, only $1.25. Secrets of the Witch features a number of fantastic new character options to enhance your game, including new feats, new hexes, a 20-level base class for playing a green hag, and an excellent collection of fun and flavorful spells.
One of the most exciting things in the book is a feat called Coven Initiate, which allows the character taking the feat to form and join covens. The following new feats are coven feats and are denoted as such. There are no special rules governing coven feats on their own, though some external abilities can reference them. Additionally, many of these feats reference the Coven Initiate feat. Since this feat is so integral to covens as a whole, we’ve taken the liberty of reprinting a slightly updated version for you here, so that you can understand what’s going on with the rest of the feats (and everything in the other articles this week, to boot).
Coven Initiate [Coven]
Prerequisite: Able to cast 2nd-level arcane spells.
Benefit: You are now able to form a coven with other spellcasters in order to gain increased magical power. The coven must contain at least three members, all of which must possess this feat or otherwise have the ability to join or create a coven.
Creating a coven requires a ceremony that lasts one hour and requires all members of the coven to be present, and once the coven is created the casters remain part of that coven indefinitely. New members can be added to the coven through a one-hour ritual that requires at least three members of the coven, as well as the new member, to participate. A single character can belong to more than one coven, though the members of those covens may have their own opinions about these split loyalties. A coven member can sever his or her connection to the coven by performing another ritual, this one requiring 24 hours. Similarly, other members of the coven can expel a member by performing a one-hour ritual, though this ritual requires all members of the coven other than the one to be expelled to be present and take part in the ritual.
Members of a coven can cooperatively cast a number of spells without expending spell slots, preparing them in advance, or even knowing the spells. At least three members of the coven must work together to cast a spell in this way, and this is a full-round action for each member. All members must be able to see and hear all other participating members, but otherwise can be any distance from one another. If the spell has a casting time of more than one round, each participating member must spell a full round action casting the spell for the spell’s entire casting time.
The spells that coven members are able to cast in this way are determined by the caster level of the highest-level caster, as indicated on the table below. The spells remain available at higher levels, so a coven whose highest-level member had a caster level of 18 could cast all the spells on the table.
All spells cast in this way use the caster level of the highest-level coven member participating in the casting, and uses the primary spellcasting ability score (and primary spellcasting ability score modifier) of the participant with the highest primary spellcasting ability score modifier. Even if all participating members have primary spellcasting ability scores of 15 or less, spells cast in this way are treated as if the caster had a primary spellcasting ability score of 16. The participant with the highest caster level is the one that controls any decisions about the spell (such as the target, location of the area, and choosing between multiple modes of the spell, etc.). This character is also considered the spell’s “caster” for spells that have a specific effect on the caster. If two participating members are tied for highest caster level, the one with the higher primary spellcasting ability score controls the spell. If their primary spellcasting ability scores are tied as well, an opposed Charisma check is made to determine who controls the spell. Metamagic and similar effects cannot be applies to spells cast in this way.
In addition to the above mention of spellcasting, members of a coven can also collaboratively cast spells with the coven descriptor. Such spells have special rules and effects that allow multiple members of a coven to participate in casting the spell, and have additional effects when more than one character is involved in casting them.
Conspiracy [Coven]
You recognize the secret occult connections among spellcasters and instinctively understand those connections.
Prerequisites: Coven Initiate.
Benefit: You are able to join a new coven or to indoctrinate members into your existing coven as a full-round action using the Coven Initiate feat. However, the bond created by joining a coven in this way is significantly weaker than those formed by following the complex occult rituals traditionally associated with joining a coven. Consequently, the bond of a coven formed in this way is temporary and lasts only for 1 hour.
Normal: Joining or creating a coven with the Coven Initiate feat requires a 1-hour ritual, and lasts indefinitely.
Coven Apprentice [Coven]
You have adopted an apprentice and indoctrinated her in the ways of your coven.
Prerequisites: Coven Initiate.
Benefit: You can share your coven abilities with a single character whose level does not exceed your own. Taking on an apprentice in this way requires a 1-hour ritual, during which the chosen character, as well as that at least 3 members of your coven, must be present. The chosen character must also be willing to become your apprentice. The apprentice gains the benefits of all coven feats you possess (besides Coven Apprentice), even if she would not normally meet the prerequisites. You can choose to take on a new apprentice by performing this ritual again, in which case the previous apprentice loses these benefits.
Coven Bond [Coven]
The bond you share with your coven strengthens not only your magic, but also your person.
Prerequisites: Coven Initiate.
Benefit: As long as you are within 30 feet of at least two other members of your coven, you gain a +2 bonus on Bluff, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Spellcraft and Use Magic Device checks. These bonuses increase by +1 for each additional member of your coven beyond the first two that is within 30 feet of you.
Coven Spell [Coven]
You hold a key to unlock a new spell for the use of the coven.
Prerequisites: Coven Initiate, Coven Adept.
Benefit: Choose a single spell you know that does not have a costly material component. The chosen spell can be cast cooperatively by using the Coven Initiate feat, as long as at least two of the coven members who help you cast the spell also possess this feat (and selected the same spell when they took it). Casting spells in this way otherwise functions exactly as though they had been cast using the Coven Initiate feat.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you select this feat, it applies to a new spell.
Lay Member [Coven]
Though not a spellcaster yourself, your knowledge of the arcane and occult allow you to join and participate in covens, provided they will let you join.
Prerequisite: Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks.
Benefit: You may join a coven as though you had the Coven Initiate feat. You cannot create covens of your own. Additionally, in order to contribute to cooperatively casting a spell using the Coven Initiate feat, you must succeed on a Knowledge (arcana) or Spellcraft check with a DC equal to 15 + twice the level of the spell to be cast. If you fail this check by less than 5, you fail to contribute. If you fail this check by 5 or more, then you actually hinder the spell, and it fails.