The Witch is one of the new classes added to the Pathfinder system in the Advanced Player's Guide. It's an interesting arcane-caster class that is, at its heart, very similar to Wizards.
One aspect about playing a Witch is choosing a patron (or rather, a domain that represents the patron). A patron gives the Witch one bonus spell known at each spell level that is not otherwise on the Witch spell list.
The selection of patrons listed in the Advanced Player's Guide is, I feel, very limited and does not cover anywhere near the full realm of possibilities. Further, while the Pathfinder SRD lists several extras, most of these seem to be very poorly-conceived with several spells already on the Witch spell list (one even lists the same spell twice at different levels). It's important to remember that Witches learn and cast spells in almost the exact same way as Wizards and a "bonus" spell that he/she could learn anyway is a convenience, not a bonus.
I've therefore decided to write up a few Witch patrons of my own, as well as redo two on the SRD that I liked (winter and portents). All spells selected are from the Core Rulebook or the Advanced Player's Guide and are not otherwise on the Witch spell list (with one exception which is listed one level lower to retain its "bonusness"). Spells from the Advanced Player's Guide are marked with a *.
Benevolence/Charity:
Written up to be a good counterpart to Malevolence (below).
1st-Bless, 2nd-Aid, 3rd-Prayer, 4th-Grove of Respite*, 5th-Atonement, 6th-Heroes' Feast, 7th-Restoration, Greater, 8th-Euphoric Tranquility*, 9th-Freedom
Harvest:
Mostly Druid spells, as you could imagine.
1st-Goodberry, 2nd-Soften Earth & Stone, 3rd-Plant Growth, 4th-Repel Vermin, 5th-Commune With Nature, 6th-Heroes' Feast, 7th-Animate Plants, 8th-Control Plants, 9th-Shambler
Malevolence/Cruelty:
Many of these are spells I feel should already be on the Witch list and aren't.
1st-Doom, 2nd-Accelerate Poison*, 3rd-Contagion, 4th-Giant Vermin, 5th-Insect Plague, 6th-Disintegrate, 7th-Creeping Doom, 8th-Fire Storm, 9th-Energy Drain
Portents:
One of the extras on the SRD and, in my opinion, a good idea for a Witch patron. However, the SRD incarnation is very poorly done, hence the rewrite.
1st-Doom, 2nd-Whispering Wind, 3rd-Blood Biography*, 4th-Dream, 5th-Nightmare, 6th-Forbiddance, 7th-Phantasmal Revenge*, 8th-Foresight, 9th-Weird
Temptation/Desire:
This one was tough, as Witches already get most of the good spells for this. Still, I feel it makes a good patron, so I wrote it up. A few of the spells are otherwise Bard-only.
1st-Grace*, 2nd-Undetectable Alignment, 3rd-Honeyed Tongue*, 4th-Glibness, 5th-Dream, 6th-Foe to Friend*, 7th-Pied Piping*, 8th-Euphoric Tranquility*, 9th-Imprisonment
Winter:
One of the better-written extras on the SRD. Still, there were choices I had a problem with and since I thought this to be a very good idea for a Witch patron, I decided to rewrite it from scratch.
1st-Endure Elements, 2nd-Chill Metal, 3rd-Elemental Aura (cold only)*, 4th-Wall of Ice, 5th-Control Winds, 6th-Freezing Sphere, 7th-Simulacrum, 8th-Polar Ray, 9th-Clashing Rocks (half damage dealt is cold)*
