I went for something a little different this week to test out the remastered witch. As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in my best attempt to fit the character. These choice may not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.
If you prefer watching over reading, check out the YouTube video on the character!
Let's get into the build for Dr. Facilier from Disney's Princess and the Frog!
DR. FACILIER, THE SHADOW MAN
CHARACTER Dr. Facilier
SOURCE The Princess and the Frog (Disney)
BUILD GOALS
o A rather straightforward character, Dr. Facilier is a smooth-talking con artist that also possesses the powers of a voodoo witch doctor
o His considerable magical powers come from spirits that he refers to as his Friends on the Other Side
o He cannot use his magic to produce results for himself but excels at manipulating others and using their own wants and desires for his end
o A pink powder allows him to seemingly produce illusions and accomplish simple magics and he is also able to create magical items, such as a talisman that changes the wearer’s appearance
o His shadow appears sentient, acting independently but typically in alignment with him and is able to interact with the physical world
o In addition to his magical capabilities, Dr. Facilier is an accomplished con man, liar, and trickster
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Deep Fetchling (Negative)
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Dexterity, +Intelligence
o Ancestry Feat: Hard to Fool
Background: Charlatan
o Ability Boosts: +Intelligence, +Charisma
o Skill Increase: Deception (trained), Underworld Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Charming Liar
Class & Subclass: Witch of the Starless Shadow
o Class Ability Boost: +Intelligence
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Arcana (trained), Crafting (trained), Intimidation (trained), Occultism (trained), Performance (trained), Stealth (trained), Thievery (trained)
o Familiar’s Spells: Cantrips - infectious enthusiasm, musical accompaniment, prestidigitation, shield, telekinetic hand, telekinetic projectile, void warp; 1st - fear, grim tendrils, penumbral shroud, phantom pain
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +0, Dex +2, Con +0, Int +4, Wis +1, Cha +2)
In an effort to explore additional ancestries and to put the ‘shadow’ in Shadow Man, this build utilizes the fetchling ancestry. Originally, this used the liminal heritage to represent the lights he creates during his but a future aspect of the build disallows him from using light, so he settles for the deep heritage to gain some resistance against otherworldly forces. He takes Hard to Fool, being familiar with many of the classic tricks that others would normally deploy. While he wields real magic, his fast-talking antics and habit of tricking people lends itself well to Charlatan background, granting him the Charming Liar so that he can ingratiate himself too others. The magic he wields comes from his Friends on the Other Side, meaning witch is the best class to represent him. His patrons will be of the Starless Shadow, given his association with darkness and shadows, but many of them are solid options for him.
The spell that stands out the most from among his Cantrips is musical accompaniment since he is after all a Disney villain, complete with his very own song and dance that can be embellished with prestidigitation. His patron grants him fear and options such as penumbral shroud, grim tendrils, and phantom pain feel like they could fit this shadowy Spellslinger.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Shadowcaster Dedication
o Skill Feat: Alchemical Crafting
o Gear: psychopomp mask
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Confabulator
o Skill Increase: Deception (expert)
o Gear: hand of the mage, ring of discretion, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Enhanced Familiar
o Skill Feat: Root Magic
o Gear: ventriloquist’s ring, hand of the mage, legerdemain handkerchief, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +0, Dex +3, Con +1, Int +4.5, Wis +1, Cha +3)
o Ancestry Feat: Clever Shadow
o Skill Increase: Occultism (expert)
o Gear: frightful hag eye, crafter’s eyepiece, ventriloquist’s ring, hand of the mage, ring of discretion, psychopomp mask
An early Shadowcaster Dedication is maybe a little heavy-handed but further plays into our sinister Shadow Man and has a mechanical benefit in providing easier access for an upcoming aspect. By taking the Enhanced Familiar class feat, he’s sitting pretty at 6 familiar abilities each day, and that’s only for now! As a witch, those options will increase as he levels, which will be handy. Unfortunately, there weren’t a ton of general feats that stuck out with me, at least none that felt like they needed to be taken immediately, which led to this build exploring more skill options. Confabulator aids him in pulling off his schemes, Alchemical Crafting befits some of the practices he demonstrates such as the hair tonic he made, and Root Magic simply feels appropriate for one versed in these arts - and who isn’t always on the best of terms with his ‘Friends.’ Clever Shadow is a very fun ability that starts to play on the sentience and independence of his shadow though it may be something we retrain coming up here shortly.
Given the character’s propensity for chatter, spells such as blistering invective and cutting insult feel like solid choices from among his 2nd-rank spells, but darkness, hideous laughter, phantasmal treasure, and swallow light also seem appropriate. Shadow projectile and shadow spy stand out the most among his 3rd-rank spells, potentially letting him pick up a few of those second level spells in those slots if players don’t choose more standard but effective fare.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Greater Lesson - Lesson of Shadow
o Skill Feat: Lengthy Diversion
o Gear: +1 explorer’s clothing, cloak of repute, frightful hag eye, ventriloquist’s ring, hand of the mage, legerdemain handkerchief
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Deception (master)
o Skill Increase: Fleeing Diversion
o Gear: wand of hopeless night (2nd-level), +1 explorer’s clothing, instructions for lasting agony, frightful hag eye, persona mask, ventriloquist’s ring
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Cauldron
o Skill Feat: Lie to Me
o Gear: venomed tongue, spiritsight ring, wand of hopeless night (2nd-level), +1 explorer’s clothing, cloak of repute, frightful hag eye
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Hefting Shadow
o Skill Increase: Crafting (expert)
o Gear: +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, lesser queasy lantern, venomed tongue, wand of hopeless night (2nd-level), instructions for lasting agony, silent heart
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +0, Dex +3, Con +2, Int +5, Wis +2, Cha +4)
o Class Feat: Incredible Familiar
o Skill Feat: Magical Crafting
o Skill Increase: Society (trained)
o Gear: ventriloquist’s ring, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, smokey hag eye, lesser queasy lantern, wand of hopeless night (2nd-level), spiritsight ring
Sixth level comes with two big things - it nets him Greater Lesson for the Lesson of Shadow with its very fun malicious shadow hex and it also grants him a seventh familiar ability, thanks to Enhanced Familiar. This means that he now qualifies for the shadow familiar as a specific familiar, letting him really have that cavorting shadow, which comes with a few of his own tricks. This can make Clever Shadow a bit superfluous and maybe the ancestry feat from this block doesn’t work with it, but it really nails what the character is going for. If looking to retrain Clever Shadow, I would suggest Lightless Litheness to capture his more cartoonish proportions and movement. For this sneaky snake oil salesman, Cauldron grants him some tonic to distribute to his companions while Incredible Familiar jumps him up to 9 familiar abilities, meaning that even after spending the 7 abilities on his shadow familiar, he still has 2 left over to play around with. This is an option that could be skipped, but may be handy and can allow it to take abilities such as Partner in Crime.
This level has a focus on Deception-based skill feats since our subject is certainly a shyster but also takes Magical Crafting so that he can produce talismans and the like to sell and distribute. Hefting Shadow received a brief mention, but I think this is just a fun way to expand on the capabilities of his shadow. For 4th-rank spells, veil could be handy, granting him the ability to disguise others akin to how his amulet made Lawrence appear as Nareen. When he gets to his 5th-rank spells, he can take invoke spirits as well as the shadow spells, such as shadow blast, shadow siphon (which I can’t find the remastered version of), and umbral journey.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Occultism (master)
o Gear: tome of dripping shadow, cape of grand entrances, ventriloquist’s ring, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, vaporous pipe, lesser queasy lantern
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Major Lesson - Lesson of Vengeance
o Skill Feat: Consult the Spirits - Occultism
o Gear: +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, tome of dripping shadow, wand of hopeless night (4th-level), ventriloquist’s ring, swarmeater’s clasp, smokey hag eye
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Shadow’s Assault
o Skill Increase: Crafting (master)
o Gear: wand of traitorous thoughts, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, hexing jar, tome of dripping shadow, cape of grand entrances, ventriloquist’s ring
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Spirit Familiar
o Skill Feat: Disturbing Knowledge
o Gear: wand of shardstorm (5th-level), wand of teeming ghosts (5th-level), wand of traitorous thoughts, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, tome of dripping shadow, wand of hopeless night (4th-level)
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +1, Dex +4, Con +2, Int +5.5, Wis +2, Cha +4.5)
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Deception (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, wand of shardstorm (5th-level), moderate queasy lantern, wand of traitorous thoughts, hexing jar, ebon marionette
At first glance, taking Lesson of Vengeance may seem a little strange, but needle of vengeance feels like a good fit for his Voodoo aesthetic and also relates to his desire for revenge and more against the rich and privileged of New Orleans. Spirit Familiar feels like too much fun to pass up on, but a part of it that seems especially appropriate is that the healing from it can only be applied to an ally, not one’s self - meaning that it’s a great match for the good doctor’s inability to conjure on the behalf of himself. He finally starts making use of his general feats with Toughness as a generally useful effect and Incredible Initiative helping him get in there early, both more mechanical in nature than the more flavorful skill feats he’s been taking up until now. Getting more castings of shadow blast through his Shadow’s Assault ancestry feat is just handy, even if it maxes out at 6th-level. This block features a deeper dive into his Occultism skill with his Consult the Spirits letting him reach out to those Friends on the Other Side and Disturbing Knowledge letting him reveal a few of the unsettling secrets of those things he ain’t even tried.
Right off the bat, the first spell that stands out at 6th-rank is cursed metamorphosis since he is the one that turns the princess into the eponymous frog in the first place. This is probably the biggest callout here though ravenous darkness may not be bad to fill out more of that darkness-based spell selection he has. Nothing particularly stands out among 7th-rank spells but shadow raid and tempest of shades fit well with his theme. None of the 8th-rank spells fall in the ‘must-have’ or ‘thematically on-point’ categories for him.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Shadow Reservoir
o Skill Feat: Reveal Machinations
o Gear: major spy staff, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, major endless grimoire, wand of shardstorm (5th-level), wand of teeming ghosts (5th-level), wand of traitorous thoughts
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Skirt the Light
o Skill Increase: Occultism (legendary)
o Gear: orange prism aeon stone, greater cape of illumination, major spy staff, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, wand of shardstorm (5th-level), moderate queasy lantern
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Patron’s Claim
o Skill Feat: Break Curse
o Gear: crown of intellect, wand of teeming ghosts (7th-level), orange prism aeon stone, major spy staff, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, major endless grimoire
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Crafting (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, crown of intellect, wand of shardstorm (7th-level), orange prism aeon stone, greater cape of illumination, major spy staff
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +1, Dex +4, Con +3, Int +6, Wis +3, Cha +5)
o Class Feat: Patron’s Truth
o Skill Feat: Slippery Secrets
o Gear: locket of sealed nightmares, +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, maw of hungry shadows, crown of intellect, orange prism aeon stone, wand of teeming ghosts (7th-level)
He hasn’t really been making use of his archetype with the witch having plenty of fun stuff for him instead, but he will take Shadow Reservoir largely for mechanical purposes in allowing him some decent flexibility when it comes to casting spells. Patron’s Claim is a bit more on track with a flavorful purpose - he intended to offer up all the souls of New Orleans to his Friends and this is them just making good on that offer a little early. For his capstone feat, he settles on Patron’s Truth but all are a little shaky. He doesn’t make the most use out of Hex Master and Witch’s Hut seems odd but could be flavored as ‘Dr. Facilier’s Voodoo Emporium.’ Skirt the Light just expands on his arsenal of additional shadow spells while still creating something that can be useful for others that he brings on the journey. Diehard rounds out his general feat options as other felt like they didn’t quite fit and he only met his end through being dragged from life into a far worse fate. Reveal Machinations fits well with his shyster personality though he is actually the one responsible for several lives going astray in his source movie. While it doesn’t seem like something he would do for free, Break Curse feels up his alley though I suspect that he’d be responsible for the curse in the first place. Finally, Slippery Secrets provides him with some defense against magics trying to suss out his perfidious plots and plans.
There are a few 9th-rank spells that feel as though they could be suitable - unspeakable shadow is on-theme, phantasmagoria makes me think of his song and dance, and wails of the damned just feels like a fit. Manifestation from his 10th-rank spells is always handy though shadow army is probably the best fit for his general selection.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: In a free archetype game, Dr. Facilier can further explore his Shadowcaster archetype with options such as Disciple of Shadow, Shadow Spell, and Shadow Magic, which could lead into him taking Shadow Power and getting another casting of shadow blast. He also feels as though he could make use of the Captivator Dedication and a few of its feats, and could also eke out a tiny bit of use from Familiar Master with Mutable Familiar, Familiar Mascot, and Familiar Conduit.
BUILD CONCLUSION
Dr. Facilier is a deep fetchling witch of the charlatan background who is granted power by a Starless Shadow patron to represent his connection to his Friends on the Other Side as well as his association with shadows. Using magic to only produce results for others will mainly be a flavor thing, but does have some representation in Spirit Familiar only being able to heal allies, not himself. His selection of spells can give him a variety of ways to create illusions as well as manipulate shadows and darkness while feats such as Alchemical Crafting, Magical Crafting, and Cauldron allow him to produce magical items and concoctions to be used by others. His living shadow comes about through his shadow familiar, achieved both through his class and the Enhanced Familiar feat while access to it is made easier by his Shadowcaster Dedication. However, even without that, he can start exploring that concept through his Clever Shadow and Hefting Shadow ancestry feats. His deep investment in Deception and feats such as Charming Liar, Confabulator, and Lie to Me help him better serve as a con man and shyster whereas his Occultism skill and its Disturbing Knowledge, Root Magic, and Break Curse play into the legitimate mystical might he wields.
Conniving and cunning to the core, this crafty and crepuscular caster curries confidence in his customers only to cause chaotic curses and cruel contracts.
Lemme know what you think and what other builds you would like to see!
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Have a fantastic Friday!
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