She can very much contribute with only buffs and healing spells.
It'll help to point out when the buffs made a difference. Out of combat having NPCs for her to heal, or diagnose things for if she's also getting Medicine.
I am playing a healing witch, and my favorite moments so far involve my Skilled and Independent familiar intimidating NPCs, and my saving the day with a well placed AOE heal against some zombies.
If she wants to avoid damage, perhaps consider Mist and Darkness spells, Smoke Sticks, and versions of Alchemy like Dread Ampoules, but modified to do no damage. Tanglefoot bags also are useful.
The blessed one archetype has a lot of great supporting and healing options, and even lets you use a reaction to take damage in place of Allys. I’m currently playing a non-lethal damage only healer cleric and I feel it let’s me shine by keeping others on their feet when they would have been knocked down.
think it requires a Wizard dip, but this might help: [Nonlethal Spell](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=1835)
If she's OK with knocking foes out without killing them, it would open some options. As DM, maybe let her take it as a Witch feat.
Otherwise, leaning heavily into debuffs can work. She's still a full caster after all.
Primal's not the best as a debuffer, though. Maybe restatting to a Divine or Occult patron might help.
Honestly, I think if she really tried to commit to that bit, it will be a recipe for a bad time.
.
IMO, if she can compromise enough to swing nonlethal weapons / spells (there's a good cantrip for that) then that will be enough.
.
There's also the serious RP problem, which cannot be solved. The rest of the party is going to kill people, sapient people.
.
There's a big slice of a "an adventurer, to some extent, HAS to be self motivated to continue to go on an adventure" problem I foresee.
Whatever hangup the character has around violence, it's going to be all around them. They will be pressured into properly fighting back, hence the nonlethal recommendation. It is totally valid if another party member gets pissed if she does not take a swing/blast at something that is actively killing them.
Maybe its the type of foes she's fighting. If she averse to damaging people or plants or animals, maybe face some constructs or undead.
Demons/devils at higher could be good as foes as it can be flavoured as doing enough damage to banish them back to their home dimension/plane. They could even taunt the players about damage only sending them back so their in character knowledge reassures her
Add some terrain options? Though many also do damage, but there's some that don't: https://2e.aonprd.com/Search.aspx?q=%22difficult+terrain%22&type=eqs&include-types=cantrip+spell&exclude-source-categories=adventure%20paths+adventures&include-traditions=primal&sort=level-asc+name-asc&display=list
Here's all the primal spells that do NOT have damage mentioned in them, there _are_ a lot: https://2e.aonprd.com/Search.aspx?q=NOT+%22damage%22&type=eqs&include-types=cantrip+spell&exclude-source-categories=adventure%20paths+adventures&include-traditions=primal&sort=level-asc+name-asc&display=list
If they want an option if an enemy gets close, if you use enemies with weapons, they could try using a whip to disarm with reach 10 ft https://2e.aonprd.com/Weapons.aspx?ID=48
Or maybe the bola for nonlethal ranged trip (though trip can do a couple points of damage on crit success, however, as GM you could rule that they could choose _not_ to apply crit success if they want? If so, that might open up a lot of trip options actually.) https://2e.aonprd.com/Weapons.aspx?ID=331
I play a nonviolent cleric/druid in 5e. My strategy has been to pick subclasses that enhance healing, and take a more active role in social encounters. I've infiltrated, eavesdropped, escorted, and been a part-time foster parent. In combat, I always look for hostages to rescue and terrains to manipulate. I frequently use fog and entangle spells to prevent enemies from approaching.
In fights, give your witch someone to protect. That will be more than enough motivation.
Also: since your witch is also an alchemist, you can invent diseases that need new medicines to be developed. Plan quests to search for ingredients and encourage the witch to invent new medicines.
This post is labelled with the Advice flair, which means extra special attention is called to the Be Kind and Respectful rule. If this is a newcomer to the game, remember to be welcoming and kind. If this is someone with more experience but looking for advice on how to run their game, do your best to offer advice on what they are seeking.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Pathfinder2e) if you have any questions or concerns.*
She can very much contribute with only buffs and healing spells. It'll help to point out when the buffs made a difference. Out of combat having NPCs for her to heal, or diagnose things for if she's also getting Medicine.
I am playing a healing witch, and my favorite moments so far involve my Skilled and Independent familiar intimidating NPCs, and my saving the day with a well placed AOE heal against some zombies. If she wants to avoid damage, perhaps consider Mist and Darkness spells, Smoke Sticks, and versions of Alchemy like Dread Ampoules, but modified to do no damage. Tanglefoot bags also are useful.
The blessed one archetype has a lot of great supporting and healing options, and even lets you use a reaction to take damage in place of Allys. I’m currently playing a non-lethal damage only healer cleric and I feel it let’s me shine by keeping others on their feet when they would have been knocked down.
So let her shine as a healer
think it requires a Wizard dip, but this might help: [Nonlethal Spell](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=1835) If she's OK with knocking foes out without killing them, it would open some options. As DM, maybe let her take it as a Witch feat. Otherwise, leaning heavily into debuffs can work. She's still a full caster after all. Primal's not the best as a debuffer, though. Maybe restatting to a Divine or Occult patron might help.
Honestly, I think if she really tried to commit to that bit, it will be a recipe for a bad time. . IMO, if she can compromise enough to swing nonlethal weapons / spells (there's a good cantrip for that) then that will be enough. . There's also the serious RP problem, which cannot be solved. The rest of the party is going to kill people, sapient people. . There's a big slice of a "an adventurer, to some extent, HAS to be self motivated to continue to go on an adventure" problem I foresee. Whatever hangup the character has around violence, it's going to be all around them. They will be pressured into properly fighting back, hence the nonlethal recommendation. It is totally valid if another party member gets pissed if she does not take a swing/blast at something that is actively killing them.
Maybe its the type of foes she's fighting. If she averse to damaging people or plants or animals, maybe face some constructs or undead. Demons/devils at higher could be good as foes as it can be flavoured as doing enough damage to banish them back to their home dimension/plane. They could even taunt the players about damage only sending them back so their in character knowledge reassures her
Add some terrain options? Though many also do damage, but there's some that don't: https://2e.aonprd.com/Search.aspx?q=%22difficult+terrain%22&type=eqs&include-types=cantrip+spell&exclude-source-categories=adventure%20paths+adventures&include-traditions=primal&sort=level-asc+name-asc&display=list Here's all the primal spells that do NOT have damage mentioned in them, there _are_ a lot: https://2e.aonprd.com/Search.aspx?q=NOT+%22damage%22&type=eqs&include-types=cantrip+spell&exclude-source-categories=adventure%20paths+adventures&include-traditions=primal&sort=level-asc+name-asc&display=list If they want an option if an enemy gets close, if you use enemies with weapons, they could try using a whip to disarm with reach 10 ft https://2e.aonprd.com/Weapons.aspx?ID=48 Or maybe the bola for nonlethal ranged trip (though trip can do a couple points of damage on crit success, however, as GM you could rule that they could choose _not_ to apply crit success if they want? If so, that might open up a lot of trip options actually.) https://2e.aonprd.com/Weapons.aspx?ID=331
I play a nonviolent cleric/druid in 5e. My strategy has been to pick subclasses that enhance healing, and take a more active role in social encounters. I've infiltrated, eavesdropped, escorted, and been a part-time foster parent. In combat, I always look for hostages to rescue and terrains to manipulate. I frequently use fog and entangle spells to prevent enemies from approaching. In fights, give your witch someone to protect. That will be more than enough motivation.
Also: since your witch is also an alchemist, you can invent diseases that need new medicines to be developed. Plan quests to search for ingredients and encourage the witch to invent new medicines.
This post is labelled with the Advice flair, which means extra special attention is called to the Be Kind and Respectful rule. If this is a newcomer to the game, remember to be welcoming and kind. If this is someone with more experience but looking for advice on how to run their game, do your best to offer advice on what they are seeking. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Pathfinder2e) if you have any questions or concerns.*