dailycharacteroption

[dailycharacteroption]

Retrograde Revision 3: Ancestor Mystery (Oracle Mystery)

(art by ArtLeonCD on DeviantArt)

And so we come to the end for this week, and I must say, looking back on what I wrote on today’s subject in the early days of the blog really does feel like I did this entry injustice, but that’s what these revisitations are for, right?

Whether it is great records set in stone or oral traditions, we as humans, as well as many fantasy peoples, are defined by the legacy of our forebears, of the act of keeping the name and memories of those who came before alive, to better understand how they strived and sweat and bled to make the world that we live in today, all in direct defiance of the uncaring and forgetful march of time.

Civilization, all civilizations, are based on this at their core, on the legacy of our ancestors, so it only makes sense to honor or even worship them for their role in making our lives possible, and the prayer that whatever remains of them after death will watch over us into the future. Apply that to a fantasy setting, and the echoes of long-dead ancestors, be they spirits formed from their memories or their souls watching from the afterlife, may indeed come to offer guidance and protection, often using oracles of this mystery as a mouthpiece and/or instrument of their will.

Naturally, these oracles show up most often in cultures and religions that have a strong sense of history. The dwarves with their great halls built by forefathers and their fathers in kind, the elves with their long view, the iruxi lizardfolk with their tendency to keep the bones of their ancestors close in a very literal way, all are potential candidates. However, any civilization might give rise to such oracles, with perhaps the exception of young species or created beings that lack a history.

Regardless of their origins, however, the weight of history and the strength of an army of forebears stands behind these mystics.

The spells of these oracles range from various manifestations of their ancestors aiding them in ghostly form, to those that bless them and others with courage and determination, to stepping beyond the veil into ethereal and astral realms.

With a gesture, many of these oracles can summon to their hands an echo of one of the weapons wielded by their family in the past. At first, these weapons are well-made but mundane, but grow more magical and even able to touch spirits as they grow in power.

Others can invoke the courage and skill of their ancestors for a few brief moments, gaining greater prowess in battle.

Some develop the ability to unnerve others with a touch, such foes feeling the otherworldy presence of the spirits watching over them.

Others call upon a relevant ancestor when attempting a task, seeking their guidance on the matter.

More powerful oracles can allow the spirit of a great warrior to possess them, becoming a deadly force on the battlefield for minutes at a time.

Many can also call upon their ancestors to shield them from harm, blocking incoming attacks and even casting aside projectiles with mastery.

With an inversion of their power, some can become as spirits themselves, intangible and invisible to mortals for a while.

Powerful mystics might learn to invoke the wrath of their ancestors in a flurry of half-visible shapes and forms tearing into foes, an assault which is even more destructive to the undead.

Many also possess a knack for speaking to the dead, asking questions of even begrudging and hostile interviewees with some modicum of success.

Others learn to commune with their ancestors fully by entering a meditative trance, able to learn of the near and farther future, as well as eventually asking great questions of them.

Finally, at the end of their path, the strongest of these mystics become avatars of their ancestral lineage, becoming harder to usurp mentally, gaining heightened senses, superior divinatory power, and even able to project their spirit astrally without any setup.

The revelations and magic of this mystery lends itself well to a mixed combat and support oracle, able to go toe to toe with mighty foes while also supporting their allies and being supported in kind with spiritual allies and the like. Add in proficiency with all knowledges and ways to buff or complement that with divination, and they prove true to their class name as information utility characters as well. If your character’s backstory points to a specific type of weapon or combat style, you might consider choosing feats and spells that complement it as well.

Two different routes you might take with these characters are perhaps the most obvious. On the one hand, your oracle might be a proud (or ashamed) keeper of their ancestry’s legacy, ready to perpetuate it and fight for (or against) what they believed in. On the other hand, they may be only learning of their grand history when they begin hearing the voices of the dead in their ears. Either way, the concept of family and legacy likely mean a lot to them, whether they already know it or are discovering it on their own.

Gorvid Duskhammer has awoken as an oracle, the first ever in his clan. However, the ancestral voices in his ear are those not of mountain dwarves, but of duergar, pointing to a hidden, dark history behind his otherwise well-respected clan. So desperate is he to hide this foul truth that when foreign heroes appear to solve the dwarven city’s undead problem, he tags along into the family crypt, to silence them if they realize the corpses below are of grey dwarves.

The bitter life of a street urchin has made Callad hard and cruel. When he awoke as an ancestor oracle he realized he had been denied greatness his whole life. Now, he rules over the shattered keep his ancestors once lorded over, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake, plotting to restore his families name to greatness, by any means necessary.

It is said that the blade of Karaactus was lost for all time, but they say one of his blood still lives, an ancestor oracle who may be able to divine what happened to the magic sword. However, they might object to someone else wielding their ancestral weapon, which presents another problem.

#pathfinder #retrograde revision #archetype #oracle #mystery #ancestor #dwarf #duergar #Ultimate Magic

[dailycharacteroption]

Retrograde Revision 3: Arctic Druid

(art by WillOBrian on DeviantArt)

From the arctic tundra to permafrost-laden taiga forests, the cold of the extreme polar regions is a beautiful and foreboding sight, being yet another extreme environment where nature makes deadly demands of the creatures that would dare live there. And yet animals and even plants can thrive there.

And of course, where there are both the elemental forces and the life that is adapted to survive them, you will find druids.

That’s right, we’re bringing back another terrain druid archetype in retrograde revision, one of the two categories of similarly-themed archetypes the druid was known for in the early days of archetypes, alongside the animal shaman category, and this time we’re heading into the cold deserts of the northern and southern parts of most planets.

Like other druids, their arctic counterparts do revere nature, but in particular they revere the beauty of the ice and snow, the harsh and deadly power of it’s storms, the tenacity of the life that dares to thrive there, and the preciously brief moments of verdant life that peek through during the (relatively) warmer months in the warmer edges of the regions.

In the arctic, there is no room for misplaced mercy or frivolity, as a failed hunt or poorly-planned expedition can lead to a slow death, so while they are far from humorless, arctic druids treat the world around them very seriously, and expect those that travel with them to do the same.

As one might expect, these druids are extremely knowledgeable about their home terrain and able to survive, scout, and hide within with great skill, and they can even hide their tracks even through snow.

With a combination of balance and supernatural blessing, they also can move and act on icy terrain with no inhibition to their mobility, and can even walk on thin ice and snow crusts without breaking through.

They also become inured to the cold and resistant to the effects of bright light, preventing snowblindness and consequently protecting them from other dazzling effects.

Though the arctic regions are far from lifeless, there isn’t a lot to mimic up there, so with that and the power of their other abilities in mind, these druids are slightly slower to learn how to wild shape than others.

They can also see perfectly in both natural and unnatural snowy weather, and can prepare icy versions of fiery druidic spells to bring the freezing wrath of the polar regions against their foes (though they can still prepare the hot versions if those would be more useful.

More powerful individuals can also transform into living snow flurries, their swirling snow bodies perfect for not only avoiding physical harm but also disappearing into a snowstorm.

Much like other terrain druid archetypes, this option makes the most sense if the majority of the campaign takes place in the biome type in question, though that’s not to say it’s worthless. In their home terrain they are unparalleled trackers and are extremely maneuverable when even other natives would have difficulties. Meanwhile, even outside of that environment, the ability to prepare fire spells as cold can be extremely useful if you need answers to foes that are resistant to fire or vulnerable to cold, particularly if you want to pack spells that don’t also produce hazards the rest of the party cannot deal with. Speaking of which, spells like sleet storm and ice storm are very good at higher levels for giving you a way to hide in flurry form, which could be good for attacking foes from stealth before vanishing again. Additionally, both animal and domain bonds are quite useful here, the former getting tanky bears and mammoths, flanking wolves, aquatic pinniped or cetaceans, or agile arctic birds of prey, while the latter potentially adding useful elemental options, including the arctic terrain domain.

Like I said before, these druids are pragmatic survivalists first, but they don’t necessarily need to be ice cold and heartless either. After all, one of the most important adapation of arctic natives is their ability to act communally to survive, staying warm and sharing food when necessary. As such, while some may be harsh indeed, others might be kindly and caregiving, often a bit of both depending on who they are with.

By a fluke of geography, the frozen lands of Svedgard are divide from the sweltering desert of Halqim by a single mountain range. Both nations have chosen to ignore the other… until the day when a rakshasa prince stole the Crown of Ice from the Jarl of Endless Winter’s palace. Now, a creeping wave of ice has begun to spread into the desert, ushered by his arctic druid allies.

In the primitive lands of Draman Kai, druids are worshipped as avatars of nature. One such druid, the Winter Queen, is under siege by the irreligious gnoll hordes of the south, but the local tribes refuse to help, thoroughly convinced that as a goddess, their Queen is untouchable to mere mortals, and she is too prideful to actually ask. If nothing is done, she will eventually be overrun.

No one knows why, but the Whispering Mines, long abandoned by its makers, is said to have begun producing noise again. Some blame a haunting, others claim that bandits or other ne’er do wells have claimed the mine in search of ore the miner’s missed. Either way, no one can approach to verify, for the winds of the pass pick up to hurricane force whenever anyone approaches, a howling voice accompanying them.

#pathfinder #retrograde revision #archetype #druid #arctic druid #gnoll #Advanced Player's Guide

[dailycharacteroption]

Retrograde Revision 3: Archivist

(art by suomar on DeviantArt)

Another case of bards in name only, today we’re looking at an archetype that is essentially a librarian.

Described as being “bards that eschew the dramatic aspects of their training”, that need not necessarily be the case, as archivists could easily have gained their arcane/occult magic by studying the body of work under their care rather than having gone to any bardic college.

Either way, they are still associated with academia, and may have a personal history as a scholar first.

The badass librarian has been a thing in recent decades, so whether they are archivists or scientists doing field work, these brilliant minds can prove how effective their stores of knowledge are both on and off the battlefield.

This archetype feels like a first pass at a non-loremaster knowledge-based character, the sort of thing that would evolve later into the overall vibe of the investigator class, so it’s interesting to see where it got it’s start.

Rather than inspire bravery in others, archivists instead focus on providing running commentary and guidance on how to fight the creatures they and their allies are currently facing. While they have to identify them first, doing so gives their allies an offensive and defensive buff against them as they point out vulnerabilities and limitations in the subject’s attack and defense.

Whether it be supernatural boredom or the sheer crushing weight of their focus on minutiae, these archivists can wax technical on a subject to daze or confuse those under the effects of one of their “fascinating” lectures (how fascinating they actually are may vary.” Later on, they can even affect whole crowds this way.

Predating the skald ability of the same name, these archivists know so much that they are true lore masters, able to recall incredible amounts of information on a topic a few times per day.

Additionally, their magical lore makes them better suited to identifying magic items, disabling magical traps, and recognizing magical runes in time to better brace themselves against their effects.

Furthermore, they also demonstrate proficiency with all skills, which only grows over time.

More powerful archivists are so knowledgeable that they can predict a possible outcome and occasionally take the most average result on any sort of activity, including when attacking and resisting, which can be useful in an emergency.

The archivist, with it’s eventual ability to treat every single skill as a class skill, as well as taking 10 often and 20 a few times per day at a low level, has the potential to be the arguably best skill monkey in the game. The base combat performance providing both an offensive and defensive buff against identified foes is also very nice, though the ability to daze or confuse foes that are already fascinated is of dubious unsability, since most situations in which you’d fascinate, you’re trying to avoid combat, and it’s not clear how confusion and daze work in regards to keeping people fascinated when they might start punching each other. Beyond that, however, I recommend spell and feat choices that help you have an at least partial answer to any situation you come across. Damage spells with a variety of types, utility spells, debuffs, buffs, you name it.

The nature of their ability to debuff foes they fascinate might give some the assumption that they are boring or dry lecturers, but that doesn’t have to be the case. It could be that their passionate diatribes are simply bewildering to others, and you can certainly portray them as being passionate about many a subject.

A mystic prank goes wrong when a bookish student cast a forbidden spell to get back at his classmates, and now they are all stuck inside a demiplane centered around the most popular tabletop board game in the school. Experienced adventurers are needed to enter the game’s world, master the rules, and rescue the students.

Palanz Whisperwind has never seen any of the monsters he’s spent his whole life studying. In need of a change of pace, he hires a party of adventurers to escort him on this field study. Putting up with his incessant droning and condescending attitude may drive the party up the wall, though.

The secret name of Falrax, the demon lord of night, is hidden in the secret archives of the Library of Thoumous Rang. Getting to the repository, however, will prove difficult, as the gynosphinx archivist Written Conundrum is loath to allow the ignorant and uninitiated to touch her tomes, even if the fate of the world is on the line.

#pathfinder #retrograde revision #archetype #bard #archivist #gynosphinx #Advanced Player's Guide

[dailycharacteroption]

Retrograde Revision 3: Archer

(art by jeffchendesigns on DeviantArt)

Green Arrow, Hawkeye, the Peter Jackson version of Legolas, many versions of Robin Hood… All are known for being legendary archers, no, more than that, utterly superhuman in their skill with a bow. From archery techniques that look good on film but are poor practice in real life to truly impossible shots, there’s a lot to be said about the unrealistic but nevertheless awesome-looking feats that these archers get up to.

Love them or hate them, such incredible skill in archery is the basis for today’s archetype, the archer fighter!

As the name implies, these warriors specialize in the bow, and are so skilled as to perform some incredible shots with them.

By stereotype alone, it’s often rare to see ranged-focused fighters, with bows seemingly more regulated to rangers, hunters, or other classes that don’t automatically get better armor, but the base fighter alone gets so many combat bonus feats that they can be among the best archers in the game, and this archetype only makes them better, giving them more to do with a bow and arrow than just dealing damage each round.

As ranged experts, these archers are skilled at noticing distant targets, as well as compensating for distance and wind to strike from further away without a loss in accuracy.

An archer’s precision with their arrows is so great that they can learn to perform various combat maneuvers from a distance, such as targeting an object to knock it out of a foe’s hand or damage it, fire a distracting shot that barely misses to feint foes, or later on, they can deliver shot to send a foe stumbling back, pin their clothes to nearby surfaces to “grapple” them, or shoot their leg out from under them to trip them.

Naturally, their ability to aim and deal damage with a bow only grows stronger as they master it.

They also learn to keep their wits about them and strike when the opportunity arises, preventing foes from striking while they aim their shots.

Fighting from range means often being fought back at range, and these warriors use their keen eyes and understanding of trajectory to dodge incoming fire.

Some of the most powerful of these archers can unleash a hail of arrows in a cluster, like a one-person volley, raining down arrows with surprising accuracy against multiple targets.

Near their zenith, their reflexes against ranged attacks grows so great that even those that strike home only graze them. What’s more, they can even catch incoming arrows and bolts out of the air.

The most powerful of them, naturally, pick a bow of some kind as their subject of their weapon mastery, becoming true legends with such a weapon.

This archetype is a perfect example of what a lot of fighter archetypes, especially their early archetypes are: specializing in a particular combat style even more so than they already can being a fighter. Being able to perform combat maneuvers at a distance allows them to inhibit foes in addition to just damaging, making them better at supporting melee characters in the party while also not having to worry about the initial drawback of reprisal in the form of attacks of opportunity if they lack the proper feat (though said feats are useful for making you better at said maneuvers.

Speaking of feats, there’s a surprising amount of variety in archery-themed feats, allowing some variance with the builds. From the overwatch style letting you punish multiple foes for their actions, to clustered shots letting you hammer past the DR of foes, to empty quiver style letting you be mixed ranged and melee without ever switching away from your bow. Additionally, though the nonmagical alchemical arrows are a somewhat lackluster option at higher levels, especially for their price tag, specific magical arrows can go a long way towards the “archer superhero gadget arrow” vibe if that’s what you’re going for.

Being such a skilled archer can have so many origins stories, from a talented and skilled soldier to a hunter to a performer perfecting their prowess for the spotlight to even those that use archery as a meditative martial art. No matter their origin, all can agree that awareness and focus are the roots of their profession.

Local sulfur deposits in the kingdom of Brakiss have given rise to the invention and popularization of firearms. Local archers have had to up their game, honing their skill with the bow to uncanny levels to compete with the new technology. When a pro-firearm noble turns up dead with an arrow in his back, the race is on to hunt down these expert snipers, or to prove their innocence.

Castle Tormaigg has been long abandoned, but it remains as it was in its heyday, a masterfully constructed fortress. A kobold tribe has moved in, and is currently renovating the interior into a gallery of deathtraps, guarded by expert kobold marksmen perched atop the parapets.

The race for martial superiority between warring nations is an endless one. The magic-rejecting Flightviper lizardfolk clan, known for their skills with archery seek the secret of their elven neighbors arcane archer death arrows to add to their already impressive mastery of the bow. The question is not whether they will be able to overcome their superstitions of arcane magic, but rather, what havoc could they create with this newfound power if they do.

#pathfinder #retrograde revision #archetype #archer #fighter #kobold #elf #lizardfolk #Advanced Player's Guide

[dailycharacteroption]

Retrograde Revision 3: Archaeologist

(art by BorjaPindado on DeviantArt, featured in Arkham Horror)

And it’s time for another revisit to some of my oldest entries on the blog, and this time, it’s the archaeologist!

I’ve said many times that certain archetypes of certain classes feel almost like entirely different careers and vocations than offshoots of the same class, and today’s entry, from Ultimate Combat, is what actually introduced me to the concept!

While this archetype has more in common with Dr. Indiana Jones or Dr. Evelyn Carnahan than it does with the real thing, it’s easy to see why bard was used as the basis for bringing this concept to life, even if the investigator rivals it in many ways. After all, a bard has access to a deep pool of knowledge and their spellcasting can be either flavored as them studying the arcane and occult secrets of ancient civilization or simply a practical skill to pick up for field work in a world where the relics of the past often have strong opinions about being recovered by modern civilizations.

This archetype also does a good job of expressing “bard that is trying to emulate the traditional skillset of a rogue.”

Regardless of that, in a world of ancient wonders and past civilizations, it only makes sense that archaeology would exist in some form in a fantasy setting, recovering relics for historical study or profit, depending on who’s doing the digging. Both can be equally devoted to the work though.

Whether it’s boldness or some form of supernatural luck, these archaeologists can draw upon seemingly otherworldly fortune when they need to, functioning similarly to a combination of inspire courage and inspire competence, but also applying to their saves and only affecting them. Insert your jokes about humming adventure music while they perform activities here.

They also train to notice small details as well as disabling mechanisms, both important skills in the trap-laden tombs they often visit.

They also gain both uncanny dodge and evasion, similar to a rogue, deftly avoiding danger.

Additionally, these bards also learn many different talents associated with rogues, including a few advanced ones as well.

This archetype is good for those that want to be a problem-solver for the party. Yes, they are especially good at dealing with traps and noticing details, but they also have access to both bardic spells and rogue talents, making them very customizable. I recommend a combination of buffing spells, utility spells, and a mix of utility and combat talents for a character that can do a little bit of everything though specializing ain’t bad either.

Unfortunately, real-world archaeology, particularly western archaeology, while scientific and historic in nature, still has nasty elements of tomb robbing in it’s own history, relics of the past curated in museums far from the very people whose cultures those items are a record of their heritage. Now, the Pathfinder Society in the Lost Omens setting subverts this by having lodges in multiple countries so that the relics deemed safe for public viewing can be put on display for the people whom find them culturally significant. Of course, villainous archaeologist associated with the Aspis Consortium could make good villains as well.

The idol of Xaxitl has vanished from the museum it was displayed in. Some blame the locals retrieving it from those who defiled their ancestors temples, but Professor Herris believes it was stolen by members of a daemonic cult and political party he has run across before, seeking to use the idol’s dark power to their own ends. The biggest challenge may not be retrieving the artifact, but dealing with the professor’s abrasive personality, however.

Isea Ferdt, the most knowledgeable authority on ancient mountain elf culture has gone missing. She was last heard from planning an expedition to a newly discovered dig site in the Amarac foothills. As certain signs depicted in mountain elf culture are beginning to manifest, discovering her whereabouts, and perhaps rescue, has become paramount, as only her expertise can correctly interpret these prophecies.

Doomsday cults are often crackpots establishments ran by deranged, but otherwise relatively harmless madmen. The Cult of the Blinding Eye, however, has recently become tenfold more dangerous than before, as if they were being guided towards their endgame by someone with the knowledge of archaic evil that they otherwise lack.

#pathfinder #retrograde revision #archetype #bard #archaeologist #elf

[dailycharacteroption]

Class Feature Friday: Enchantment School (Pathfinder Second Edition Wizard School)

(art by Julia Kovalyova on Artstation)

We’re back with another wizard school in second edition, only now that the remastered edition of 2E is out, they’ve thoroughly changed how wizard schooling is done now that the traditional magic schools have been dropped in favor of schools of thought in the setting rather than “what type of effect does this magic have”.

However, that does leave us with a small problem since a major part of the central region of Pathfinder’s core setting revolves around the traditional schools of magic: Thassilon, what with it’s ancient history of being ruled over by multiple runelords, each focused on a different school of magic.

Which is why I say that even if they strip the words “abjuration” and “evocation” from the game, there still is a place for these older versions of the magic, though you should probably update them to be in line with the power of their newer counterparts: In this case, In addition to the free 1st-level spell of your school you get at first level, you should also be getting free spells of that school at higher levels as you level up.

In any case, Enchantment!

When last we covered this school, we talked about how enchantment is the magic of the mind, how it can be used to elicit certain emotions, make others erroneously believe that you are a friend, directly control their actions, and even invoke words of power so potent that the minds and bodies of foes are forced to succumb to their hostile command. (It is important to remember these specifics now that future products will no longer list the schools of the spells they print, in case you want to use classic or “Thassilonian-Style” wizardry alongside the remastered rules, which I believe you should.)

While certainly not as violent or blatantly cruel as the destructive aspects of evocation or the reanimating power of necromancy, enchantment in the wrong hands can be just as much a tool of the wicked, violating the mind just as surely as the other two violate the body and soul.

However, in the right hands it can be a tool of benevolence and mercy. Plenty of enchantment spells bolster the vigor and positive emotions of allies, or can prevent bloodshed that would otherwise be inevitable, such as charming a guard to let you pass instead of slaying them.

Of course, much like evocation and necromancy, all bets are off in combat, where sapping the will to fight in foes or turning them against their allies is just another tool in the box when it comes to keeping yourself alive.

So yes, while the stereotype of the domineering enchanter that turns others into their slaves has plenty of truth to it, enchantment itself is not inherently evil, just like every school of magic.

Also, it’s worth noting that this school shares a lot of bones with the new “School of Mentalism”, but that also throws in illusion to the mix as well, so while you can use that instead, if you really wanna adhere to enchantment or make use of the greater school spell of this school, the choice is up to you.

As-written, enchanters get a enchantment spell at first level and extra spell slots for each spell level to cast the spells of that school. However, as I said before, you’re free to improve that to gaining spells for free at every spell level/rank. Exactly how you decide what spells they get is up to you, though. You might say they can pick from any appropriate rank spell of the right school or with the right vibes, or your GM might compile a specific list to match the modern schools.

The basic focus spell allows these wizards to subtly deflect the ire of their foes with enchanted words, potentially causing them to hesitate or be stopped in their tracks against them for a few seconds, which is a slightly more thematic parallel to First Edition’s dazing touch.

The greater focus spell differs slightly from it’s 1e equivalent, projecting fear rather than despair, but otherwise still hampering their enemies.

Additionally, the following feats prove especially useful to enchanters: Silent Spell, Irresistable Magic, Second Thoughts, and Spell Mastery, though others might go well with the other spells in your arsenal.

Being an enchanter means being a master of buffing, battlefield control, debuffing, and various utility effects outside of combat. While this does mean you’re probably not a direct damage dealer except when you need to be, it does make the rest of the party’s jobs that much easier. Naturally build with enchantment in mind, but don’t forget to diversify!

Though earlier we did mention that enchantment spells can easily be used for evil and the subversion of will is definitely a violent act, in a world of complex moralities, there may be entire disciplines in the setting that think differently. That fact alone means that this school of magic and it’s practitioners invite a lot of debate on both sides of the issue, which could be grounds for some fun worldbuilding and character moments.

Lambent Ollianara is not only beautiful, but literally incandescent as a brightsoul ifrit in addition to being an elf. Many have sought out her hand, but none have ever held her interest for long. Indeed, those that persist beyond reason find themselves compelled to leave her be thanks to her magic.

In a lonely tower in the middle of the valley, a hermit wizard dwells. Long ago he swore off people as too complicated, instead surrounding himself with the powerful and fierce primeval beasts of the region, particularly his twin pet Megalania lizards. After all, animals don’t complain when you secure their friendship with magic, after all.

A young noble has developed a clique of followers and sycophants among her young peers, who fawn over her constantly and go along with whatever she asks. It’s one thing to have the charisma to attract friends and assume a leadership role, but the speed at which this happened is alarming, so the party is asked to investigate for a magical or supernatural cause to this.

#pathfinder second edition #wizard #school #enchantment #elf #ifrit #megalania #Core Rule Book

[dailycharacteroption]

Keeper of Construct (Inquisitor Archetype)

(art by nolan192 on DeviantArt)

It’s time for another archetype geared around killing and disabling constructs… but this one isn’t from construct handbook this time! So I am only halfway reminded of the biggest disappointment in First Edition for me!

In any case, this archetype is tied to the Goddess Brigh (and occasionally Torag), who presides over invention and machines. While the Whisper in Bronze is normally content to let inventors create in peace, sometimes it becomes clear that those that devote themselves to creating mechanical servitors and other wondrous inventions do so without the common benefit in mind. Those that use such constructs as vengeful assassins and tools of revenge, or that sic them on civilians as acts of terror and cruelty are her enemies.

Emulating her wishes and the powers of her herald: the Latten Mechanism, some of her priests take up arms against such violent and cruel creators, seeking to either free their constructed creations from them, or barring that, putting them down s they can no longer cause harm.

Such keepers are found both in Numeria and Alkenstar, where the worship of Brigh and the crafting of constructs is common, but they might be anywhere where constructs are found in great numbers, and their creators need policing, both in and outside the Lost Omens setting.

Divinely guided by their patron, these construct hunters are able to aim for the weak spots of constructed foes, bypassing the durability of most and at least somewhat piercing those that cannot be pierced by adamantine alone.

Their presence and knowledge of construct behavior allows them to make constructs hesitate, almost as if they were afraid.

Additionally, there are few that are more knowledgeable about construct strengths and weaknesses than them.

More powerful individuals can even command constructs that do not belong to them, even wresting them away from the direct control of their master, though this is limited in what they can command and how often they can do so.

This is a pretty solid construct-hunting archetype, though some of the abilities raise questions. Most constructs have DR bypassed by adamantine, so having limited ability to pierce other types of DR on constructs is a bit niche. Furthermore, while the ability to implant suggestions in constructs is nice, it does not say whether this bypasses the magic immunity of golems and golem-like constructs, which I feel is definitely a needed clarification. In any case, this archetype is a bit niche, but not so much so that they’re powerless outside of fights with constructs, but they can really excel in campaigns with lots of robots, clockworks, and other constructs about.

As written, these inquisitors seem to be focused on the preservation of mechanical life that can be saved, so if you’re looking for an archetype for a villain that seeks to destroy sapient machines for whatever reason, such as because they have gained sapience, this might not be what you’re looking for unless you outright change the flavor of the class, which could be fun if you want to apply it to a less benevolent god or philosophy.

The Brass Key clan of dwarves are famous for their clockwork marvels, which range from automatic mechanisms for running public works to full-fledged constructs. However, not all who create these wonders do so peacefully, so in the name of The Maker, there are sects of priests dedicated to putting a stop to such villainy and blasphemy.

The world of the Shattered Tower has been wiped nearly clean of life, leaving behind the relics of civilization and horribly monstrous wildlife alongside the automatons that survived their creators. Most machines try to live peacefully and find new meaning in this ruined world, but others still bear the programming of death and war that brought this ruin, forcing the others to take up arms to protect themselves and the last bastions of life.

The party needs a construct breaker to help handle the guardians of the tomb of Hakshesu, and they find one in Lova Windercoil, who is tasked with handling any automaton guardians while the party deals with mummies and other guardians. However, Lova cannot help but question the application of her divine gifts towards destroying constructs that are no danger to anyone but interlopers.

#pathfinder #archetype #inquisitor #keeper of construct #dwarf #mummy #People of the Wastes

[dailycharacteroption]

In that case, might I recommend Hildegard von Blingin' ? She's easily one of my favorites in this new budding genre!

Like Bardcore is a thing and nobody was going to tell me about it?

#bardcore #Youtube

[dailycharacteroption]

Kalistocrat (Starfinder Archetype)

(art by SkavenZverov on DeviantArt)

The Kalistocrats of Pathfinder, and their far-future inheritors in Starfinder, are… interesting. They’re pretty blatantly based on those weird “not quite a cult but certainly not entirely innocuous” pseudo-religious movements for rich people that teach that their wealth and the continued drive to acquire more is a clear sign of their superiority and willingness to adhere to the strange doctrines of the movement, but aside from pointing out how the actions of these greedy elitists affect other people, the writing rarely claims that they’re entirely full of it. Compare this to the church of Razmir, where it’s pretty explicit that the so-called “Living God” is really just a sorcerer con-man who has recruited an army of other magic users and plain old fashion thugs to con the wealthy and browbeat the poor to wring every last copper out of both, because who needs actual deific power and authority when you have money and people believe you are a god anyway.

I think that the reason Kalistocrats don’t get the same rap is that, despite their focus on the acquisition of wealth of all things, they’re not necessarily evil people. Aside from their adherence to the “advice” of Kalistrade’s Prophecies, they get to decide exactly how they go about making their wealth, and this holds true into Starfinder too, though let’s be clear here, just because they’re not evil doesn’t mean they’re good. After all, you can’t get absurdly wealthy without exploiting someone somewhere.

But let’s say you want to play one of these weird uber-businesspersons, (I don’t. The whole cult-y vibe of the group gives me the heebie-jeebies) There is an archetype for you in Starfinder, either as a player or as a GM who wants the villain of the week to be Jared Leto and pals.

This archetype is interesting, because it’s one of those that let’s you pick and choose from a list of abilities, or even skip levels that you would normally get these abilities if you so choose, making it almost more like a selection of feats or modular class features than an archetype.

Some work on perfecting their bodies and minds through meditation and exercise, allowing them to bolster one of their saves each day.

Others focus on learning about other cultures, bolstering their ability to interact with them amicably and avoid insulting them.

An advantage of being so well-connected is that you can call in favors for people to do your research for you, allowing them to use their social skills to learn more about a subject, assuming they have time and a way to contact their allies. Additionally, they can use their connections to secure discounts every now and again.

Their focus on the writings of a long-dead philosopher-prophet allows some to better understand hidden messages and codes, as well as speak in code with others of their philosophy through modified quotes from the core writings.

The key to successful business is building your network, and many excel at just that, able to make a good first impression as well as do research on new potential partners ahead of time.

Some take their physical fitness even further to better resist assault on whatever aspect of their being they focused on during their meditations that day.

Whether it be through esoteric knowledge, knowing the right doctor, or knowing enough about mystic arts to enter a meditative trance of healing, many of these wealthy figures are able to bolster the effects of long-term care to heal their bodies and minds faster.

This archetype is, by nature, very flexible, and can be used easily with pretty much any class. Gaining a buff to saves as well as various social and financial boons makes the most sense of course with a character geared at least partially for the social side of things, as well as being a bit more durable. More than anything, though, it offers thematic abilities character lore, which is always nice.

Again, I don’t get the appeal, but you don’t necessarily HAVE to use this archetype with the Prophecies of Kalistrade in mind, and even if you do, it’s perfectly possible to play one as benevolent as a financial up and comer can be, or, if we drop them being actual kalistocrats, they might even be philanthropists in the truest sense.

The Kalistocrats have endured throughout the ages because their strange restrictions seem to actually work, but is it actually the taboos that bring them this fortune? Or is it just sound financial advice and/or inter-philosophical nepotism? The duo of the mystic Targaad and the witchwarper Veox seek answers without letting the wealthy organization know.

Given their focus on wealth over all things, the White Glove Club boasts some of the best security for it’s members to flaunt their wealth. However, recently a string of thefts have left many minor members of the club embarrassingly destitute. All the security camera footage shows is someone looking exactly like the vault’s owner extracting the cash in each case, a mocking calling card of the endiffian thief who has made the club and it’s member their target.

They say that Baron Yanras gained his fortune by using his witchwarping magic to glimpse alternate realities where he was already successful. Whatever the truth of this, he is almost as skilled at bending reality as he is at business, all of which has attracted the attention of a horror beyond the stars, a warpstitcher intent on making his body a prize to feed off the visions of realities where he has failed.

#starfinder #archetype #kalistocrat #endiffian #warpstitcher #Starfinder 37 The White-Glove Affair

[dailycharacteroption]

Junk Technomancy Technomancer (Technomancer Alternate Class Feature)

(art by David Bonilla on Artstation)

Perhaps one of my very, very favorite things about the Starfinder technomancer class and their spells is how well they integrated technology and magic together, (in the spells at least, the magical hacks are kinda hit and miss for me) and nowhere else is this clearer than in the “junk” spells. Junk spells include those that either transmute nearby junk into a form unable by the mage, conjure junk usable for the former as their primary function or as a side effect, or that utilize already transmuted junk in a new way.

It began in the core book with the various junkbot spells, which were a stand-in for summoning until they perfected that with Alien Archive, but as more books came out, we got junk armor, junk swords, barricades, grenades, extradimensional shelters, and even the ability to detonate junk or transmuted creations!

It only makes sense, then, that there would be technomancers that specialize in these sorts of spells. They might be self-taught mystical tinkerers using the most readily available resource they know of in low-income neighborhoods, or they might be enthusiasts that see the ruined beauty and functionality in what others deem worthless.

Regardless of where they come from or how they feel about these things, only a fool would underestimate a junk technomancer just because their arsenal is all secondhand. It may not look pretty or be as sturdy, but they can squeeze surprising amounts of power out of what others cast off.

In exchange for having a cache and cache capacitor, these techno-mages specialize in junk spells, learning junk armor and junksword immediately in addition to their normal spell allotment, as well as upgrading to higher level versions of junksword as they gain levels (the text suggests that junk armor upgrades as well, but that spell doesn’t have variable level. It’s just a first level spell. A mistake on the author’s part?) Additionally, they can cast either one of these spells once a day without expending any energy.

Their junk spells also prove just a little bit better, their armor becoming tougher, and their transmuted creations lasting longer.

Given their focus on cobbling together contraptions than programming, they also focus on engineering rather than computers.

Finally, they improve their junksword and junk armor to allow for upgrades, their armor gaining an armor slot which they can install an upgrade into, and their junkswords able to incorporate a fusion seal the technomancer has on hand into their design.

The junk spells of a technomancer are versatile, ranging from defense to attack to utility, but they all require scrap electronics to work, which is why spells that conjure junk, be it the junk shards attack spell or the fabricate junk cantrip are very important for when you venture beyond junkyards, broken-down slums, or easily-smashable tech labs. That being said, you also still have all your other spell slots to diversify for those times when junk is not available and conjuring some would waste precious seconds. In any case, the focus on junksword and junk armor does mean the build expects you to be at least partially a melee build, so your spell and feat selection could probably do with options that tilt melee combat in your favor, such as debuffs and battlefield control options, to say nothing of enhancing your own combat prowess.

The versatility of junk spells cannot be denied, but one must also remember that no only are these creations temporary, but they render the junk used in them inert to any more castings of the spell, valuable only for their use as scrap. As such, I imagine that many of these technomancers also enjoy making longer-lasting creations as well, possibly from the junk they’ve spent on previous castings of their magic, incorporating components harmlessly into the whole of a project.

Strange attacks have been happening in the upper city, with people being slain by beams of light from invisible foes. The culprits are a group of lurkers-in-light, led by a lightweaver. However, confronting the fey in the upper city will be nearly impossible without first causing a blackout. The simpler option would be to track them to their dark undercity lair, home to junkers of all descriptions.

Most would consider Visak’s Folly, a debris field of derelict ships left over from the last great war, to be a poor place to forge a community, but for the xulgaths that dwell there, it is a golden opportunity. So much salvage to recover and sell. Many of them take up technomancy as well, turning the scrap that surrounds them into tools and weapons, the latter especially one those that attempt to muscle in on their claim.

It wasn’t the plentiful resources or the verdant wildlife that attracted Polgan to the colony world of Pillar, it was the ancient superstructure that gave the planet its name. Attempts to explore or survey it have been met with disaster before, but the young technomancer is certain that with his junk magic and know-how he can make the attempt alone and self-sufficiently. Such is the foolishness of youth.

#starfinder #technomancer #alternate class option #junk technomancy #lurker in light #xulgath #troglodyte #Tech Revolution

[dailycharacteroption]

Juggler (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)

(art by Dmitri Burmak on Artstation, featured in Magic the Gathering)

There are plenty of characters and options for them in rpgs that are based around agility and dexterity, about demonstrating incredible reflexes and hand-eye coordination, from acrobats to finesse combatants, but it’s sometimes easy to forget one of the best demonstrations of hand-eye coordination that we have, and that is juggling.

Perhaps it’s because it’s considered a small-time trick (until you see someone VERY good at it), or that it’s “Circus Fare” (and therefore, low art), but the art of keeping multiple objects in the air, often more than one has hands, is an impressive feat on its own.

While it doesn’t happen often, there are characters across fiction that utilize juggling as part of their skill set, and often add in the related art of weapon throwing to the mix. After all, the motion of juggling can draw the eye and leave a foe open when one of those juggled knives suddenly is delivered to their vital points.

It should come as no surprise, then, that an archetype for juggling showed up in the Extinction Curse Adventure Path, which among it’s other themes (troglodyte invasion, dinosaur attacks, Aroden’s legacy of causing problems for others) is also circus-themed! It only makes sense that this archetype would be among those that let the heroes use their skills in both adventuring and on the stage.

It’s also worth noting that this is also an archetype that made the jump from First to Second Edition, where it started out as a bard archetype, but is now available to all sorts of classes.

The base dedication for this archetype grants skill at performance and also the ability to juggle, allowing them to effectively have more items “in hand” than they have hands to hold them as long as they maintain it, though naturally they can tire out eventually. Also, most of the feats for this archetype also increase the total items they can keep aloft.

Another feat allows them to maintain their juggle as a free action, freeing them up to utilize these items with more of their normal actions.

Many also learn to add more items to their juggle at once, allowing them to replenish as they lose items much faster.

They can even catch falling items or thrown weapons that would miss them and add them to their juggle as well.

With a high lob, some can toss a juggled thrown weapon at an arc that surprises foes and leaves them open to it.

Some master jugglers can even reflexively throw one of their juggled items at targets at close range, punishing them for leaving themselves open.

If you’re planning on doing a thrown weapon build, this archetype is extremely tempting, allowing you to have your arsenal of thrown weaponry at your disposal without having to spend as many actions to draw them. As such, this works very well with bomb-focused alchemists, rogues, bards, swashbucklers, and even magi, though I’m sure most any class that wants to play with throwing weapons might find it useful. Alternatively, if you’re not going for thrown weapons, juggling could also be used to have multiple potions or other magic items ready at the same time.

While some may consider a few archetypes that are introduced in certain APs, including Extinction Curse to be awfully specific and gimmicky (Lumberjack? Really?), this archetype makes perfect sense for the adventure it’s introduced in, is general enough to be used by any dexterous performer, and even pays nice homage to the original version!

On the note of roleplay, consider reading up on how performers use not just their acts, but their behavior to establish showmanship and keep eyes on them. How does the character act on stage, or off the stage?

The circus is in town, and one of the performers is a hobgoblin juggler and clown named Progg. What most don’t know is that he was once a sergeant in the army of the hobgoblin nation of Vekus, where he retired due to an injury. However, the local authorities recognize him from the war, and wonder if old habits die hard. They might not wait long enough to prove he is a spy before they make their move.

What should have been a routine performance has turned to murder when a knife-catching trick turns deadly. A minor cut from catching one of the knives she used in her performance rapidly turned into a deadly complication due to poison on the blade… poison sourced from the selection of poisonous spear frogs that the carnival keeps on display in their menagerie.

A street performance turns into a deadly ambush when the party is ambushed by a group of mercenaries that double as street performers, with juggled and thrown knives, illusions that turn into very real hostile magic, and the like. After the party survives the attack, they have to figure out exactly who ordered the hit on them and why.

#pathfinder second edition #archetype #juggler #hobgoblin #poison dart frog #Pathfinder 151 The Show Must Go On

[dailycharacteroption]

Prestige Class Spotlight 13: Brother of the Seal

(art by LehisLuguer on DeviantArt)

With their devotion to order in all things and tendency to remain in one fairly remote place to train body and mind, it should be no surprise that monks are a good choice for guarding ancient secrets and the seals to dark power.

Such is the case with the Brothers and Sisters of the Seal in Kaer Maga, a city built into the remains of a giant hexagonal structure from the days of Ancient Thassilon. This Brotherhood had been tasked with guarding a powerful mystical seal deep in the depths of the city.

However, while once they knew of it’s importance, the monks that formed the organization lost the knowledge of exactly what they were guarding, only that it was important. However, so long had they done so that a schism formed in the organization between those that wished to continue protecting the seal (both out of duty and also because things that get sealed away tend to be nasty), and those that sought to break the seal, citing that holding to promises made to dead men serve only to bind the living.

Of course, all of this is a moot point due to events in the setting.

(Spoilers for Return of the Runelords and Tyrant’s Grasp)

It turns out the seal was one of the three-part seals that helped strengthen the main seal that kept Tar-Baphon, the lich known as the Whispering Tyrant, imprisoned beneath his necropolis. However, eventually all three seals were found, including the one guarded by Brotherhood, their guardians slaughtered by the Whispering Way or other forces, and the seal broken, which is what leads into the beginning of the Tyrant’s Grasp AP.

With that in mind, any game in the Lost Omens setting that includes a Brother of the Seal character will, by necessity, either have to take place before Return of the Runelords, or have said character be a survivor, perhaps a lucky member of the traditionalist faction or part of the rebel faction.

(End Spoilers)

Regardless of their status as an organization, we find ourselves with a monk capable of powerful blows to keep invaders away from certain places, as well as an intricate understanding of runes and abjuration magic, which can be quite useful and thematic beyond the Lost Omens setting.

The prerequisites for this prestige class all come directly from the monk class, so every member is going to have at least some monk training in addition to knowledge of magic.

Naturally, their skills at unarmed combat continue to grow under this path.

However, they also learn the best ways to strike hard objects to break them, either to destroy the tools of invaders or to potentially crack the seals themselves.

They also learn some basic magic to either lock an object up tight or magically hold a door closed, all the better ward locations and treasures.

Their familiarity with defensive positions means they are very skilled at noticing traps, and even more so magical symbols and runes thanks to their familiarity with magic seals.

The last thing these monks want is for enemies to gain access to that which they guard, so they learn a technique to strike a foe with such force as to knock them back, keeping them away, even if they are bigger than the monk. Later on, they do so in such a way to deal even more harm when foes are sent slamming into walls or each other.

Their familiarity with runes also means that, should they need to, and are able to undo wards, symbol traps, and the like with a touch, stripping foes of their defenses, removing wards and traps, and the like, though doing so risks exposing them to the magic’s effects if they fail.

Truly these monks can prove powerful indeed, and their strikes hit harder than other monks of the same skill level.

Normally knocking foes back with a mighty blow requires focusing all of their power into a single blow, but as they gain mastery, they can blend such strikes into their flurrying strikes, perhaps keeping multiple foes off of them, or delivering a hail of blows before sending their foe flying.

They also eventually learn to knock foes back with enough force that they send the poor fools behind a struck foe backwards as well.

The most powerful among them can unwravel protections that normally only the most powerful dispelling and disjunction arts can undo, revealing their true understanding of wards and seals.

An awesome blow-themed monk prestige class is interesting enough on it’s own, but these warriors also have some fun dispelling arts as well. Being able to disrupt enemy formations as well as crack protective spells gives these warriors some potential for not just controlling the battlefield and stripping foes of magical protections, but also some utility in magical trap removal, as long as the traps in question are of the runic variety of course.

While the current lore of Pathfinder’s core setting has robbed these monks of their purpose, that in itself is a seed for plenty of fun character and story ideas. What does a guardian monk do when they have nothing to protect? Perhaps they are seeking something in need of their guardianship, or perhaps they seek vengeance for a ward they failed to keep safe? Or maybe they seek to see the world in order to understand what they are protecting the world from before returning? All are possible both in or outside the Lost Omens setting.

Once, long ago, iruxi society ruled supreme in the marshes of Xanixal, but now they are a shadow of their former self. However, they still remember much of their oral history, and one story tells of a lizardfolk enclave of martial artists that guard the deepest chambers of a temple pyramid dedicated to one of the old gods, where they keep the wicked and curious alike away from a dark seal and the power hidden within.

Legend says that the Seal of the Split Sky lies on an isolated island in the Iron Sea. Stories of the seal range from the promises of great power and great evil hidden within, but reaching it will require contending the stormy gray sea, the isonade-haunted waters around the island proper, and a clan of ancient guardians who have swore to let none approach.

Everyone knows that the world will end if the seals of the Five Sacred Towers are ever broken. It’s a story passed around in almost every culture. However, these is one who would dare break them, a monk with strange talents and is not inclined to explain his reasonings to those outside his entourage, save only to say “We have been led astray.”

#pathfinder #prestige class #brother of the seal #lizardfolk #isonade #Paths of Prestige

[dailycharacteroption]

Prestige Class Spotlight 13: Brightness Seeker

(art by Beaver-Skin on DeviantArt)

The Tolkien idea of elves paints them as nearly immortal beings of great wisdom but also unearthly grace and mind, and while Pathfinder’s elves don’t live quite that long, they certainly can cultivate that sort of air about themselves, especially those that follow the philosophy of brightness seekers.

Such figures believe that death is merely a step on the journey, and that reincarnating over and over again while learning from one’s past lives is the true path to enlightenment. Indeed, those that master this path may potentially reincarnate several times as animals or other beings before returning to their elven selves time and time again. What’s more, that experience gives them some familiarity with the threads of fate, giving them a talent for noticing useful threads in the futures of others, lending some certainty to their coming days.

This prestige class very much evokes the idea of naturally-magical elves that can be sought out for any problem, especially since it can work with any class, though as we’ll see, druid has the most natural synergy with it.

Additionally, this prestige class is another case of a pre-pathfinder option, so some slight conversion work is needed before using it, but it shouldn’t be too hard.

Keen perception, survival skills, and knowledge of nature and religion are all that are required aside from a strong will and elven heritage for this archetype, opening it up to nearly every class.

By spending time with another creature, these seekers can create a horoscope of the individual which will aid them in the near future, giving them advice that can bolster a single action or moment in their near future to strike true, act with surety, or avoid harm at the right moment.

As wizened elders of their kind, brightness seekers can count on other elves treating them more favorably as long as they value the same philosophy.

Drawing upon the memories of a thousand past lives as humble animals and other beings, these mystics can briefly manifest various physical traits to aid them, ranging from natural weapons, movement adaptations, enhanced senses, and so on.

Their natural tranquility and old souls makes them extremely resistant to fear, viewing such stressors as mere hiccups on their journey.

Their attunment to nature also gives them a druid-like ability to calm and commune with animals.

The druid comparisons don’t end there either, as they also learn the art of wild shaping, either separately or improving upon their druidic training into the art.

Brightness Seekers have such a strong bond with nature that they can meditate to make contact with the spirits of the wild to ask questions of them.

Later on, their tranquility is so potent that others find themselves calm in the face of fear as well.

Finally, the most powerful of these mystics find violent and unnatural deaths do not stick for them, as they can choose to reincarnate as an animal within a week. While weakened in this state and likely very noticeable as an elf-sized version of their current bestial form, this offers them another chance at life, allowing them to return to their elven form after learning a bit more in this form, or with the help of reality-warping magic.

This is one of those smaller prestige classes, only having five levels, but it offers a mix of druidic and almost paladin-like abilities, as well as passing out omen-based bonuses for allies to use at critical moments. While druid or shifter seems like the natural fit for it with their ability to synergize with the wild shape of those classes, in truth any class might benefit from this prestige class, be they skillful wise masters, nearly unkillable warriors, or mages whose wisdom transcends lifetimes.

While this prestige class is thematic for elves, they’re hardly the only ancestry associated with reincarnation and long lifespans in modern Pathfinder. I could easily see this being repurposed for samsarans or even a conversion of automatons and the like, changing a few abilities to match the themes of those ancestries.

They say a ghost haunts Beloc Keep, which has stood up surprisingly well despite being abandoned. The elven wanderer Yenva, however, knows better. The spirit in question is a dunagh, a kami devoted to warding the homes of family with strong bonds, and this spirit patiently waits for a Beloc to return and bring glory back to those halls.

Having seen many things throughout their long, artificial life, P-0109 is a Circuit Warden, a positively ancient android who’s body has undergone renewal with new souls and identities many times, but a shadow of those past lives lingers, making them an important shepherd of their people on the world of Crash, where the ship of the ancestors fell from the heavens long ago.

On the world of Meshannan, magic is slowly dying, and with it many wonders. However, some pockets of mystique still remain, such as the house of Tevas the Wise, last of the great elven lords. Those prepared for great and important tasks would do well to seek him out, for her advice has proven prophetic and and life-saving for as long as mortal memory persists.

#pathfinder #prestige class #Brightness Seeker #elf #dunagh #kami #android #Elves of Golarion

[dailycharacteroption]

Unexpected Sharpshooter archetype conversion on Patreon

Hoo, it's been a bit hectic, folks, and I haven't had time to update my Patreon until now.

But now we're back with a conversion of the Unexpected Sharpshooter from 2e into an archetype for 1e Pathfinder! Check it out here!

#pathfinder #archetype #conversion #patreon

[dailycharacteroption]

Prestige Class Spotlight 13: Bellflower Tiller

(art by Warriorseyes on DeviantArt)

Our special on prestige classes continues, and this time, we’re looking at something we’ve covered before… Well, not exactly. We ended up covering the 2nd Edition archetype version of this prestige class before we tackled the original! (Oops), but now we’re tackling the original, so let’s go ahead and give an overview of what we’re dealing with here.

The Bellflower Network is a collective of halfling emancipators that work wherever slavery is found in the Inner Sea Region, particularly Cheliax, and act as a constant thorn in the side of slaveowners and those that support tyranny and control such as many orders of Hellknights.

While the members of the network come in many different roles, it is the tillers, those that actively lead slaves to freedom over the border, that prove to be the workhorses of the organization. Their name, much like other members such as the harvesters (spies) and irrigators (assassins) comes from the tendency of network members to speak in code about their world, using farming terminology to refer to their crop (group of escorted slaves), their barns (safehouses), and rows (pathways used to escape).

The use of farming terms is a nice touch, as it calls back to real-world emancipation networks, while also being the perfect cover for their activities. Nobles and slaveowners usually have very little interest in the menial labor that they cannot be bothered to do themselves, after all.

As we’ll soon see, these emancipators offer a different application of the skills of sneaky classes, which I hope you’ll find interesting.

This prestige class requires knowledge of the local area and of surviving off the land in addition to stealth and deception skills, as you might imagine. Additionally, one must know a handful of teamwork feats as well as either the sneak attack class feature or at least two vigilante talents, which limits this prestige class to having at least levels in rogue, slayer, or vigilante, or any archetype for a class that grants sneak attack. However, what is notable is that the hero need not be a halfling, though only the most trusted non-halflings are afforded this training in the lore of the Lost Omens setting.

The basic training of this path teaches them to designate others as their “crop”, a priority charge that they watch over and can give instructions to in order to aid them in either escape or combat.

As emancipators, it is important to be able to move fast, and so they train to be swift runners, and can encourage their crop to match their pace.

They are also adept as aiding their crop in various tasks or actions they need to do, and can take this a step further if they are also trained as a bellflower harvester.

Acting like a metaphorical scarecrow, tillers are especially accurate and lethal when striking against those that threaten their crop.

They also learn a selection of extra teamwork feats to use alongside a trusted companion, and if they have levels in a class or archetype that allows them to use the teamwork feats without allies (such as inquisitor), or the ability to grant teamwork feats to others (such as cavalier or the bellflower harvester vigilante archetype), they can even use them with their crop.

An underhanded blow at the right moment can put down a slave hunter, and so they learn or improve upon their sneak attack arts.

Nothing is better for hiding people than a community that is on your side, and so the tillers ingratiate themselves to a community of their choice, making it an open secret of their job and goals that most suspect but none would willingly tell. With such a community bond, even those outside the Network will offer their aid, making things that much easier within the community while hiding from slavers, and providing concealed lodgings and medical care therein. As they master their art, they can bond with multiple communities to expand their network.

While this prestige class absolutely requires either the rogue, slayer, or vigilante as a base class with few exceptions, they also recommend levels in ranger or inquisitor, depending on the character’s style, such as nature-savvy guides or divine servants of a deity of freedom. Generally speaking, though, this prestige class works well with builds that mix underhanded tricks with ally support, whether you’re leading a group of former slaves or applying the benefits of your crop to more capable allies. This can be achieved with spells from certain classes, or there are plenty of rogue talents that reward team play.

Given the nature of some of their abilities, this prestige class can’t really be separated from their abolitionist origins, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it outside of the Lost Omens setting. After all, slavery can and often is a problem in certain parts of many settings, and where it is, there are those with the courage to stand against it, fighting from the shadows.

Alkazzar’s School for the Psychically Gifted seems like a delightful concept on paper, but anyone who’s actually been there can sense that there is something very wrong. Indeed, a cerebric cyst founded the school through it’s puppets to feast upon the psychically gifted that congregate there. However, a covert team seeks to free the children and escape out of reach of the hungry ooze’s clutches, but they’ll need help.

Coveted for their fragments of genie power, geniekin planetouched are prized slaves in the land of Shakkah. However, a network of freedom fighters works to free these slaves, led by an ifrit woman known only by her byname: Brushfire.

A new horror has arisen in the seas near Coldcliff Bay. Formed from the crew of the Red Blade, a bone ship has been patrolling the waters, hunting chain-breakers in particular, for the Red Blade was a slaver ship in life, eager to refill it’s hold with the souls of those unfortunate to cross it’s path.

#pathfinder #prestige class #bellflower tiller #cerebric cyst #ifrit #bone ship #Adventurer's Guide #Paths to Prestige

[dailycharacteroption]

Prestige Class Spotlight 13: Balanced Scale of Abadar

(art by Ioana-Muresan on DeviantArt)

We’ll cover him eventually, but Abadar is the god of civilization, commerce, and advancement, and so his faith focuses not just in advancing and improving society, but also helping to uplift even the lowest dredges for the betterment of all, at least in theory. It can sometimes be hard for Abadarites to differentiate merchantilism from capitalism.

However, there are those among them that seek, above all else, to make sure that wealth stays balanced. These are the ones who return relics and heirlooms to their rightful owners, who go out and reclaim unclaimed treasures for modern civilization from tombs, dungeons, and other places where the wealth would go to waste.

These are the balanced scales, a branch of divine casters among the faithful that draw upon greater mysteries of the Master of the First Vault, and can even draw upon his many wonders in their effort to bring prosperity to civilization.

This is an interesting one, as it’s a prestige class that actually came out before the Pathfinder RPG itself actually did so, making this a D&D 3.5 prestige class. However, it’s fairly easy to convert over, replacing certain skills with their more modern counterparts.

It is, however, a very thematic prestige class given the deity they answer to, and the powers they offer can be quite useful.

This path requires a basic understanding of disabling locks and traps, as well as appraisal. Furthermore they must also have mastery over divine magic, enough to cast 3rd-level spells. This means that pretty much any divine spellcasting class can take part in it, though obviously minor casters tap into it later than others.

Naturally, as priests of Abadar, the Balanced Scales continue their training into divine magic, though perhaps at a slightly slower pace at first.

Magical locks and traps are often a problem in tombs and ruins, and so these mystics are blessed with a knack for disabling them.

They also learn to discern what is valuable at a glance, useful for determining what to take from a hostile environment.

The biggest treasure hoards are sometimes too big to be carried out practically. As such, they learn a bit of magic to turn an ordinary sack into a bag of holding for hours at a time, increasing their carry capacity significantly. Later on, they can make a bigger bag or create two at once.

Their training also includes lessons on bargaining and how to grease the wheels of society with the universal lubricant of money. This also applies in a different way when bargaining with bound outsiders and other beings in exchange for their supernatural services.

Those that distinguish themselves as devoted servants of Abadar gain access to a privilege that few beings period, let alone mortals, gain access to, which is access to the First Vault, the cosmic structure where Abadar keeps the first perfect example of every object that civilization has ever made across the entire universe, from art objects to practical items (or at least, very good replicas of them). Once a week, a balanced scale can draw upon the First Vault itself to conjure one of these items (or again, a replica) to their hands, up to a limit on value based on their mastery of divine magic. At first, these objects are mundane, but later they can be magical. However, these objects are so incredibly perfect that they cannot be sold, both because merchants would immediately pick up on their unnatural origin, but also because it is against the tenets of the Abadaran faith to sell false goods.

Finally, they can take their ability to access the First Vault to it’s logical extreme and actually go there, using it as a stepping stone to teleport either somewhere they’ve been before within range, or to the nearest temple of Abadar. However, there are two caveats. One is that since they have to travel physically through the vault to get to the exit portal that leads to their destination, it is not instantaneous. The other is that the raw amount of perfection on display is disorienting and overwhelming, threatening to sap the mind with the wonders on display. Thankfully, it’s physically impossible to swipe something while on this sojourn, preventing the balanced scale from being an unwitting or coerced accessory to a cosmic theft.

This prestige class has a nice mix of utility powers that make for a thematic arsenal for your lawful cleric/paladin/druid/inquisitor/warpriest that specializes in tomb-breaking and loot-gathering. Additionally, the ability to conjure whatever item you need for a situation makes this arguably Paizo’s first attempt at making gadgeteer character options, which I can appreciate. Your exact build will vary based on your class, but rest assured you’ll definitely have an element of utility problem solving and social interaction.

This really is a flavorful prestige class, After all, not every god lets their devotees borrow things from their private toy box, as it were. It is good time to remind oneself, however, of how much divine power and the benefits of such are a privilege to be given out, but also rescinded if the recipient proves unworthy. Now, one might think that getting to the point where you can get access to such wonders might put one beyond philosophical failings, but arrogance is also a hell of a drug.

Devastated by war and the fall of the royal lineage, the nation of Khomat is on the verge of collapse, but the followers of the Wealth God have a plan to stabilize the region and set up a new government with only a gentle guiding hand on their part, or so they claim. But in order to fund this transition of power, the church will need a new source of income, and the tombs of the old royal line are tempting targets indeed.

A hundred years after the entire Sovaca coast fell into the ocean at the will of vengeful gods, there are still remnants of their civilization that have withstood the cataclysm and the a centuries worth of ocean water. These days, both gillmen and locathah priests lead expeditions into these ruins, the former to reclaim the legacy of their forefathers, the latter to reclaim what the surface Sovacans took from them.

Ages ago, a shadowy cult laid claim to hundreds of souls through false promises in the land of Nemwa, dragging them en masse to the shadow plane and their velstrac masters alongside the art and sculpture of their culture as a trophy. Now, one brave soul blessed by the gods of civilization is assembling a party to free those souls and rescue those symbols of their culture.

#pathfinder #prestige class #balanced scale of abadar #gillmen #locathah #Dark Markets A Guide to Katapesh

[dailycharacteroption]

Prestige Class Spotlight 13: Aspis Agent

(art by LoranDeSore on DeviantArt)

Ah, the Aspis Consortium, an organization in the Lost Omens setting as insidious as they are greedy. With a mission statement that can be boiled down to “Make a Profit no Matter the Cost”, this organization is every bit of every bad thing about a worldview centered around money. Exploitation, theft, smuggling, slavery… If it can make them money, the Consortium will take advantage of it, all while maintaining the veil of goodwill through charitable works that are in the end infinitesimally tiny compared to the profit the organization makes exploiting the very people they’re supposedly caring for.

Remind you of anything in real life?

While the villainous and underhanded side of the Aspis Consortium can make them suitable antagonists for nearly any campaign, the most likely branch of the Consortium that members of the Pathfinder Society are likely to run into would be their agents. These explorers and plunderers seek out the same sort of ancient sites that the Society is interested in, but purely for the purpose of acquiring the relics within to either keep for personal power or sell to buyers without a thought or care about the impact they cause by doing so, be it disrupting sites held sacred by the locals or outright curses and magical traps on the relics they seek.

Which isn’t to say that the Aspis won’t have their field agents also participate in more domestic crimes as well, of course, but their training focuses on tomb robbing first and foremost.

Which is where this archetype comes into play. While primarily meant for villains, it can also be used for villainous protagonists in evil games, or even by former Aspis members who became (or are becoming), more heroic.

And outside the Lost Omens setting, this archetype could be quite useful for representing a character that is a professional temple delver, particularly one that often has to fight off other expeditions as well.

Delving into this training requires a whole suite of skills revolving around deceit and dungeon delving, as well as basic training with a whip and either keen senses honed around noticing traps or the ability to cast magic that reveals secret doors. The whip training in particular is due to the weapon being a signature combat style of the Aspis Consortium for it’s ability to cause nonlethal pain and control the battlefield.

True to their roguish talents, these agents learn the art of recognizing and avoiding traps if they don’t already have it, and improving upon their skills if they do.

Periodically as they grow in mastery, these agents pick up little tricks or improvements as they grow, drawing upon a short list.

Some stand fearlessly against larger beings and prove shockingly imposing against them, while others learn various advanced combat techniques ranging from setting up traps, using combat maneuvers, and even turning a whip into a deadly weapon. Others learn to ward their thoughts against intrusion so that foes only learn the thoughts they want them to know, while others with bardic training continue that to gain new and better performances. Some learn the art of concealing small objects and can even suppress their magic, which others still learn how to continue their bardic, inquisitor, or mesmerist training into spellcasting. Others learn techniques associated with rogues, while others learn enough magic to shrink an item down for easy carrying and concealment. Some who are also vigilantes can learn an additional technique for their social or vigilante identities.

They also learn how to conceal their aura so that magic that senses particular moralities fail to reveal anything. Later on, they can sense such attempts and even later provide a false aura in case their detection is sophisticated enough to sense all moral alignments.

Not content to merely bypass the traps they find, these tomb breakers learn how to rig both traps they’ve disabled or set up personally so that they can trigger them with a touch. After all, such ingenious mechanisms shouldn’t go to waste, whether they be used against rival delvers or particularly dull denizens. Later on, they can even trigger these traps from a distance with a deftly thrown rock or a nearly-invisible pullcord.

These agents also learn the art of striking for vulnerable points as a rogue would, or improving upon that skill.

Aspis agents know how to throw off the game of others, letting them demoralize or feint foes with clever words. Better yet, they can set such things up days in advance, calling back to a throwaway statement made days ago that sheds it in a new light and leaves a foe infuriated or reeling.

This prestige class certainly points the character in the direction of being the snarky rival archaeologist or treasure hunter, but the fact you can customize it to better suit several different base classes is a real boon. Not having true spellcasting increases is disappointing, forcing you to rely on the more roguish aspects of the class, and as such, your spellcasting choices will likely be built with that in mind, focusing more on buffs and utility than damage or debuffs. Still, this class can be a veritable bag of tricks, ranging from better casting to weaponizing and building portable traps, to performing all sorts of combat and utility tricks with a whip.

In the hands of an antagonist, this archetype can be quite effective for giving an adventure a villain or even recurring villain that isn’t inherent to the dungeon itself, which has the dual benefit of expanding the world and also give your villains and bosses somewhere to be that isn’t behind the final door. In the hands of a protagonist, however, it can a great way to have a morally dubious character in your game, or even a penitent one using their talents for good. Heck, aside from the lore there’s no reason this can’t be used with a swashbuckling hero that isn’t afraid to fight dirty to defeat evil.

Though most shabti, those beings created as surrogate souls to take the burden the souls of the wealthy after death, have a healthy respect for the dead and the world beyond due to how they are rescued form their fate by the psychopomps, not all feel this way. Some are bitter indeed for the cultures that invented the process of creating them to suffer in place of wicked rulers. Such is the case with Nayobi, who has become a professional tomb robber, not just for the riches  therein, but to rob the dead she blames for her creation and suffering of their dignity.

For a month, the party has been racing against their rivals from tomb and ruin site trying to find the clues to the temple of the Horizon Eye, and they’ve both finally made it. However, the fight that erupts threatens to activate the Eye itself, a complex and powerful portal mechanism, and it’s guardian, a Lhaksharut inevitable!

The greedy often say that everyone has a price, that anyone will do anything if the reward is great enough. However, the counterargument is that there are lines that some people will not cross. Such was the case when the relic hunter Miriam Albrax learned what her employers planned to do with a dark relic she had procured, going into hiding as a hermit in one of the oldest forests in the world, watching over the relic with trap and forest ally alike.

#pathfinder #prestige class #aspis agent #shabti #lhaksharut #inevitable #Adventurer's Guide #Paths of Prestige