The Daily Character Option

(art by swedishplayer97 on DeviantArt)

I think very few people would disagree with me when I say that cybernetic prosthesis is really cool, though I think people could get into arguments about why that is.

It’s often easy to forget that at the core of their being, prosthetics are quality of life tools. A leg helps you walk, an arm gives some semblance of functionality, an eye or other similar prosthetic at minimum protects the bearer from dealing with the uncomfortable stares even if it lacks the ability to function as the organ it replaces. Some people forget that and just treat it as a character detail that makes the character look cooler, or maybe justifies feats of super strength or gadgetry in their scenes, with no regard for the struggles that character would have even with the prosthesis. The stumps that limb prosthetics are attached to must be monitored for soreness, cosmetic prosthesis often have to be removed and cleaned, and of course, the constant knowledge that no matter how advanced the prosthesis is, or what fantastical advancements it has to move, act, and feel like a part of their body, it really is just a hunk of inorganic material hanging off of them.

Which is why I appreciate how Pathfinder treats prosthesis and mobility aids, giving them rules for how they mitigate the disadvantages they are designed to deal with, but have their own limitations. It’s a respectful and inclusive way of dealing with it.

Under that context, the fantasy of having a cool robot arm or leg that it stronger than a flesh and blood one is less “I have cool superpowers and also I have metal bits” and more “The very things that help me overcome my disability not only do that, but also empower me even further”.

Because even if you are missing an arm, making the replacement a cool robot arm is still a cool robot arm.

And that is where we find ourselves with today’s archetype: the Sterling Dynamo.

Sterling Dynamos is both the name of those that wield these prosthesis and of the prosthesis themselves, silver-clad mechanical augmentations that push the limits of what is physically possible. But not everyone with a Dynamo prosthesis is a Sterling Dynamo. Such warriors accept further surgery to create braces that can handle the full power of these prothesis, and train with them to bring out their full strength, to say nothing of modifying their limb to further fit their needs.

Naturally, this archetype takes a lot of cues from First Edition Archetypes like the Constructed Pugilist Brawler.

It’s also notable that while most sterling dynamos replace an existing limb with their mechanical prosthesis, a few of them instead implant augmentations that give them entirely new parts, such as a mechanical tail or even an extra arm, though such things are rarely as dexterous as their fleshy limbs, suitable only for their striking power.

So let’s see what all they have to offer!

The base dedication for this archetype grants access to the prosthetic, which starts with either powerful pneumatics that can drive foes back or speedy springs allowing it to attack repeatedly with ease. Furthermore, the prosthesis can either be fully automatically controlled, or have it’s violent striking movements controlled by a secondary trigger, meaning that the user has to have a hand free to trigger it. (arm prosthesis can just use the hand itself to trigger it). The benefits of the secondary trigger, be it a button at the end of a cable, an actual lever sticking out of the prosthesis, or just a button under the thumb of a mechanical hand is that the striking power increases, improving the damage potential.

(So to recap, if you don’t typically keep your hands full or the prosthesis is your arm, the external trigger is better, but if you typically keep your hands full and the prosthesis is your leg or something else fully automatic is the way to go.)

Normally the clockspring of this technomagical wonder can last a whole day if wound correctly, but technically-skilled foes might try to disable it.

Some of these augmented warriors work to modify their limbs to have more striking options, able to switch them out on the fly. These options include either the option they didn’t choose initially, a rotating blade, a spiked whip, and even an extendable baton, all of which can also benefit from a manual trigger too, of course.

With some expenditure of power, some of these prothesis get modified to suddenly extend like a piston, able to pummel a foe and continue past to strike another.

Those with access to Ustelav or Irrisini technology might incorporate Stasian coils into their limb, allowing them to perform strikes further empowered by electrical discharges.

From Arcadia come the secrets of turning beast parts into weapons, and such dynamos often sport augmentations that roar with the fury of monsters even as they attack.

Automatons and those that have studied the secrets of the Jistkan Imperium might include golem technology into their limb, providing a minor ward against magic and empowering the limb itself.

Whether they’ve added a winged backpack to themselves that is powered by their limb’s clockspring or magical jets, some daring dynamos add the ability to fly to their arsenal.

If you want to play a character with a good magitech prosthesis, this archetype can certainly be useful for those seeking to weaponize and use the prosthesis. This makes the archetype most useful for combat or skilled classes, though anyone might make use of it’s abilities. The fact that many abilities of the archetype use the remaining runtime of the limb as a resource is a neat detail, as is the fact that you may need to work to be able to qualify for certain feats based on technologies available to you. If you plan on playing a caster you’ll probably only dip into this archetype a little, but maybe you can come up with a build that makes sense for you.

I talked a good long while about prosthesis as a movement aid, but this archetype wouldn’t be a magitech homage to cyberpunk fiction without mentioning those with gold to burn that choose to get a dynamo prosthesis without having lost that limb first. Perhaps they think it will give them an advantage in combat or their workplace. Or maybe they are transhumanist (seriously, what’s a better word for that that isn’t human-centric?) seeking to overcome the limitations of the flesh and gain a form closer to what they consider their ideal self. Either way, there are a lot of paths that might lead to this archetype, and plenty of stories you can tell as a result.

After years of adventuring, Jubran Ironstep has returned to his home town, a little wiser and missing a few parts. However, he finds his hometown in the midst of slow economic decline… But the metal-shod warrior has a plan, one that will hopefully revitalize the town.

Brave and fierce, Giape is a veteran centaur warrior through and through. When she lost an arm in a fight, she was gifted a beautiful arm of silver from an inventor she saved, one with an impressive foldable lance fitted inside.

(art by ManunuArt on DeviantArt)

Pathfinder and Starfinder have a long history of exploring ideas and paying homage to different cultural icons throughout, and while some have worked out better than others, there is genuine love of the cultural touchstones involved in each one.

Consider the “magical girl” genre of anime. We had homages to that as early back as the Chosen One archetype for paladins, followed up by the more direct reference with the magical child archetype for vigilante.

But today we’re finally looking at Second Edition’s own take on the idea, with a bit more lore and available to all classes!

In Tian Xia, the twelve constellations of what other lands call the Cosmic Caravan have their own names and significance, and perhaps due to the celestial attention that the continent receives, the spiritual and occult forces associated with those stars seem to have a much more direct role in everyday life, and might even have a will of their own.

And so, when a grave threat arises, sometimes those very stars will choose an ordinary person, someone living a humble life, to empower, giving them a powerful alter ego and the responsibility to use that power to aid others.

This doesn’t mean that such sentinels can’t appear elsewhere, but they are rare, even in Tian Xia.

What it does mean is that, depending on their circumstances, these figures might have to struggle with their dual identity, keeping up with their studies or work during the day and being an urban legend vigilante by night.

Those that manage this balance can be quite powerful indeed.

The baseline dedication of this archetype grants the hero the ability to transform into a fantastical outfit that not only completely changes their silhouette, but seems to magical resist attempts to discern the identity of the wearer, their features shining brightly to obscure details. What’s more, any weapon they wield becomes slightly enhanced, and can launch darts of force at range with a flick of the wrist.

Many learn one or both of some basic focus magic, one being the ability to coat nearby allies in sparkling particles of healing magic that not only heal wounds, but also force out possessing entities. The other gives them a area attack based on the constellation that granted them their magic, being either a line or cone with a damage type based on the nature of the constellation.

By proclaiming their alter ego name and allegiance to the spirit of their constellation, these mystical warriors can strike fear into their foes and potentially blind them with the subsequent blaze of starlight that accompanies this proclamation.

The bonds of the heart are more than just a metaphorical weapon against evil and corruption in the hands of a starlit sentinel. By plunging their chosen weapon into an allies chest (harmlessly, the weapon phasing through them), they can draw the weapon forth in a somewhat disturbing display, empowered by an elemental weapon rune based on the nature of the bond that ally shares with the sentinel. (subject to GM discretion)

While callous fools might view it as weakness, the caring nature of some starlit sentinels allows them to call upon their constellation in a plea of help, asking them to intercede and bring back someone slain moments ago. This application of breath of light exhausts the connection to the constellation though, forcing the sentinel to revert to their normal identity.

Unsurprisingly, some powerful sentinels can emulate the gravitational power of stars and leave the ground behind, gaining the power of flight while transformed.

This is a fun archetype, offering both a ranged option, potential for healing, debuffing, damage, and so on. If it fits the character you’re trying to create, go for it, and enjoy playing it with pretty much any class, be it melee fighter, mage with some backup options, or something else.

This archetype, despite sharing no name or real abilities with the old Magical Child, definitely feels like something of an inheritor to it, complete with a dual identity similar to the vigilante archetype. I do also love the new lore, being more specific than it’s predecessor. An interesting idea though: if you play a starlit sentinel in a part of the world where those constellations have different meanings, would the area attack granted by the focus spell they can take be different as a result? Food for thought and perhaps mechanical homebrewing.

Ambulatory slime mold are dangerous, but not something unexpected in the deepest parts of Annahopti’s sewer network. However, the number of sightings and attacks have been climbing as an alarming rate. Seeking to end the threat, the Moon God’s Blade has begun investigating.

They say that Jeko was born under a lucky star, but few understand how truly literal that is. The older orc has lived among humans for quite some time, and is currently the proprietor of his own inn. None realize though that his is also the Green Guardian, blessed by the might of the Hunter’s Speartip star. The only thing that vexes him, however, is that he cannot make his exploits known.

(art by thomastapir on DeviantArt)

It’s time for another dip into Starfinder Second Edition, and this time it’s with an archetype that shares a name with the setting, being an agent of the very organization that plays such a prominent role in the lore.

As a small aside, isn’t great that despite both the Pathfinder and Starfinder games can have such a central organization, and yet the majority of published adventures don’t assume the characters are a part of them outside of organized play? It makes the world feel so much bigger.

In any case, the Starfinder Society is the successor to the original Pathfinder Society, dedicated to finding the truth in history. Yes, most of their members are adventurers, but when they explore ancient sites and tombs, and confront the hazards within and those that would use those secrets for nefarious purposes, it is with the stated purpose of making the world a better place, be it one planet or a wide galaxy to explore. Even when not doing that they often volunteer themselves to causes they happen across when they know they can help.

Sure, both organizations have been accused of being responsible for releasing ancient evils, but more often than not they also stop those evil forces as well, and the Starfinder Society are knowledgeable enough to understand that just because a great evil goes undisturbed doesn’t mean they aren’t a problem, and they’re some of the best-equipped to notice, respond to, and handle such things.

Now obviously individual agents have their own motives, but the Society has plenty of training they offer to their members, which in part forms the basis of this archetype and it’s skillset, so let’s get right into that!

The base dedication for this archetype grants greater knowledge of cultures as well as more specialized lore. In addition to that, this archetype can be taken alongside the xenoarchaeologist archetype without the normal archetype restrictions.

Given that many delving hazards lie out of sight, many field agents are trained to pick up subtle clues that reveal the presence of such trickery.

Many agents learn as much as they can about a mission before embarking, not just for the briefing but also for work in the field. Even when they don’t have information, they can still hazard a few good guesses.

Danger can be around any corner, so even when travelling, these agents are always keeping an eye out for signs of danger, and are often the first to react to it when it rears it’s ugly head.

Those with some pull are able to requisition deliveries of useful consumable items when in a settlement where the Society has a presence, though the Society has a policy that prevents agents from stockpiling too many items this way, limiting how many they can receive.

Many agents include what is known about the style of defenses used by cultures and figures in the upcoming mission sight in their research, allowing them to use that knowledge to hack and manually disable such hazards.

Lastly, those agents with a gadgeteer’s love of tinkering modify their equipment regularly, and often prepare modular parts that can be swapped out on the fly, allowing them to alter the upgrades of weapons and armor as needed to answer the challenges ahead.

This archetype basically has two aspects you can dip into or do both. The first is having a special lore they can focus on improving that can be used for anything mission-related, making even non-skill specialist builds able to know what’s going on, along with buffs against being ambushed. The other aspect is the gadgeteering, able to get free consumables like serums and grenades each day, and letting them swap out upgrades on the fly to add to their options. If you want your character to have nonmagical solutions to various challenges, this archetype can certainly provide that, and it can also be combined at early level with xenoarchaeologist too!

The Starfinder Society recruits from all walks of life and vocations, so the possible characters you can play with here are quite diverse indeed, from the plucky scholar to the serious professional to the most arrogant upstart. What remains true for them all is that they all share the passion for knowledge and discovery.

Clever and analytical, Inner Ocean is a veteran field agent at the university and an expert in oceanography. The barathu earned her stripes when she rescued fellow divers by transforming into a temporary organic submersible after engulfing them. However, she is getting on in years, and rumor has it that she is thinking of settling down and joining as part of a larger collective of her kind.

While on an expedition, the party is suddenly awakened one night by Fritter, the empathinid pet of the expedition leader, Dr. Klivost. Investigation reveals the good doctor’s tent has been slashed open and there is no sign of her anywhere. Investigating this abduction becomes top priority, with the hope that the good doctor can be rescued.

(art by AKEIdoodles on DeviantArt)

Demons. As the embodiments of sin for it’s own sake, these fiends are perhaps the most likely to leave a taint on the mortal realm (contrary to what I said in the original version of this entry), albeit without any real plan unlike a lot of other types of fiend. A devil may corrupt to further Hell’s will, a daemon may do so to further the goal of destroying all life, kytons might do so as an experiment in their dark form of perfection, asuras to spite the gods, and divs to spread suffering among mortals… but demons? They do it because they just enjoy it.

To be clear, while certainly some of this pollution of bloodlines does come from actually copulating with mortals, especially when succubi and incubi are involved, this is not necessarily the case. The corruption might occur from any sort of activity, be it prolonged activity in the area, the character’s ancestors dabbling in infusions of demonic power or other dark rituals, and so on.

The end result are often half-fiends and tieflings, but some might also or instead manifest a measure of sorcerous awakening, tapping into fiendish power. However, demons are so diverse in form that the abilities granted may not always be the same, which is where we get both the standard variant and the wildblooded “brutal” variant.

Regardless of the exact strain, many of these sorcerers might manifest signs of demonic taint both overt and subtle, which might be generic like horns or sharp teeth, or they might hint at a specific demonic ancestry, such as supernatural attractiveness, a pinkish-red tinge to their sweat, or maybe hair that smokes or burns harmelessly when they cast spells.

Needless to say, these mages bring a bit of brutal power to their flavor of sorcery, so let’s see what they get!

The power of their demonic heritage grants them various bonus spells, some bolstering them physically, others causing fear or even surrounding them in an unholy aura. They even can banish outsiders, teleport as demons do, and summon the mightiest creatures.

The techniques they gain access to bolster their summons, as well as their ability to attack with great strength, striking multiple foes, smashing objects and shoving foes, and even empowering the might of their magic.

For the base bloodline, their arcana bolsters the defenses of their summoned creatures in a way that only holy power can pierce.

The brutal mutation, however, instead proves especially vindictive, bolstering the damage done to a chosen target of their damaging spells above others.

As a basic defense measure, these sorcerers can transform their limbs into deadly claws to fight in close range. With mastery the claws become even deadlier, and even become wreathed in flame.

They also begin to manifest a demonic resistance to electricity and poison that grows as they bring out the might of their demonic blood.

Additionally, the base bloodline find their own strength growing, letting them hold their own in melee.

The brutal variant, however, instead manifests a pair of demonic wings to give them flight.

Just how demons summon forth allies to aid them, these mages tap into that association, and always summon up more fiendish beasts or demons than normal when summoning multiple creatures.

Finally, the most powerful of these sorcerers blur the line between mortal and demon, becoming wholly immune to electricity and poison as well as resistant to all other energy damage types beyond sonic. What’s more, they gain demonic telepathy to communicate without words.

With their increased strength letting them get closer to matching at least second-line combat characters, not to mention their bolstered summons, this bloodline is begging for the caster to build for summoning, buffing themselves and their pets, and then wading into combat themselves. Meanwhile, the brutal variant is a bit less bold, still able to fight in a pinch, but preferring to punish foes from afar as artillery supporting their summons and party members. Even with that focus, don’t forget to diversify and take a variety of spells.

The nature of demons means they more often than not seek instant gratification for every impulse and desire, with only the smartest and strongest having the patience to wait. Does your sorcerer suffer or revel in similar impulsiveness? If so, what methods do they use to control it or at least direct it?

When folk speak of Countess Delia Van Daemos, they call her the Pampered Lion, one who delights in her power and prestige. She presides over matters of state, but take what she considers her just reward for the stability and order she brings to the region. Heaven help the fool who refuses her, for the feral rage in her blood is terrible to behold.

For as long as he has been alive, Cadwallis Maegeos has lived with the weight of a terrible prophecy. Supposedly, the teenage succubus-blooded tiefling will one day open the way for the greatest demonic incursion since the fall of the original Dalmonta empire. He’s determined to defy the prophesy to the very end, but the persecution he receives as demonspawn forces him to rely on his twisted powers, and stokes his abyss-fueled temper.

(art by Natasallincic on DeviantArt)

And so, due to the alphabetical order I was going in at the time, we ended up with another alchemist archetype and another half-elf ancestral archetype in the same week.

Much like before, I’m lukewarm on the idea of this being only available to half-elves, but I’ve already expressed my opinions about that several times this week.

While one usually thinks of laboratories and bubbling beakers, not nature, but some of the most common sources of alchemical ingredients are indeed refined from plants, not just dug up out of the ground.

It only makes sense then that some alchemists would experiment with using alchemy to improve and inhibit plant growth, not just for their own experimentation or refinement of ingredients, but also to help improve crop yields, destroy overgrowth, and otherwise bring out the valuable properties of plant life. And if they also happen to weaponize some of their discoveries for self-defense, then so be it!

Named for the specialized bombs they tend to wield, this path of alchemy was likely, but certainly isn’t limited to half-elves.

While certainly not the last plant-based alchemist archetype in the system, the bramble brewer was one of the first. Sadly it can’t be combined with the herbalist or horticulturalist, but it does provide it’s own unique flavor and utility, so let’s see what it has to offer!

In addition to their normal bombs, these alchemists perfect their own take on an entangling bomb. However, rather than adding tanglefoot glue like other alchemist, these bombs instead take the form of small pots or bags of seeds and specially formulated and alchemically enhanced soil, causing them to sprout into entangling vines on impact. What’s more, the vines spread out along the ground as well, creating difficult terrain. As they grow in skill, they refine the formula so the area they affect and cover only grows wider, ensnaring and hindering foes.

Not content with just bombs though, these chymists develop a mutagen that grants them some properties of plant life as well, providing lesser benefits to the physical attributes in exchange for hard, lignified skin, which improves as they refine their mutagen with discoveries. Additionally, the mutagen actually allows for photosynthesis, allowing them to heal while in sunlight.

They also get their own modified version of the grand mutagen grand discovery that is even stronger and tougher, and heals even faster without needing to be in direct sun.

This archetype also comes with a list of recommended discoveries too, namely bomb modifications for targeting different areas, clearing away unwanted vegetation, and even unleashing the power of the sun on vulnerable creatures, as well as improving their own tenacity when near death.

The name of the game with this archetype is battlefield control and defensive buffing with their mutagen. With that in mind, I recommend a build focused on creating areas of denial with their bramble bombs and wading in with either the strength or constitution version of their mutagen to tank hits. The dex mutagen might be better if you prefer to stay at range or want to focus on high AC tanking over hp tanking, but all are good options. Your extracts are best spent on healing and battlefield control options as well, such as vomit swarm.

With their focus on alchemy and it’s effects on plants, it can be easy to imagine these characters acting as apothecaries as well as botanists. To them, nature can provide nearly everything one needs if one has the knowledge and drive to discover it.

Fera Bloodtree has dealt with bigotry all her life, being of mixed blood in a world where humans are technological despoilers and elves are equally misguided eco-terrorists. She works in the department of horticulture of a particularly wealthy firm, breeding new and more deadly mutant plants for use as bioweapons. Recently, however, the good doctor has been looking tired when she comes into work, and rumor has it that some of the mega-city’s foremost proponents of anti-elven policies have ended up missing.

A mysterious plague has begun to sweep over Goldenhome, causing victims to slowly and painfully turn into inert, humanoid-shaped trees over the course of the disease. Local druids have been strangely silent concerning aid or the origins of the affliction, but perhaps Baron Tultos, an eccentric noble with great skill in alchemy and botany, might be able to help?

(art by yanaraika on DeviantArt)

Another day, another revised entry, and I think this one in particular was the one that first planted the seed in my mind that the vast majority of ancestral archetypes… did not need to be such, at least definitely not in the read-as-written exclusivity they were initially presented as. Feats and Archetypes that tie into the abilities inherent to an ancestry are one thing, but “only half-elves have the combination of elven magical tradition and human ingenuity” is just stupid.

But enough about my tired old (but still absolutely correct) ranting, let’s look at today’s entry.

While other classes can take familiars, no class aside from perhaps shaman is so intrinsically tied to having a familiar as the witch class. And why not? Unlike a wizard, a witch uses their familiar as the conduit for their bond with their patron, making it the receptacle of the magical secrets they have learned from their benefactor as well as occasionally being the literal mouthpiece for the mysterious being.

But why does it have to be a familiar?

When you think about it, the only thing that is required for the conduit seems to be some sort of supernatural receptacle for the granted knowledge and a focus for the bond, so why not, in the case of some witches, make it an item instead?

Invented by half-elves but definitely not limited to them, the subject of today’s entry is a variant of witch that uses a bonded item similar to what some wizards use as the focus of their connection with their patron, gaining the benefits of witch magic and of bonded items in general as well as some other fun quirks at the cost of not having a flexible little minion running around. (or perhaps to their additional benefit if they struggle to keep pets). However, this item is just as vital, for like a familiar, a witch without a bonded item cannot prepare their spells.

So let’s see what they offer!

The core change of this archetype is getting a bonded item over a familiar. This follows most of the bonded item rules, particularly being required for stable casting and being able to be enchanted. However, it also differs. For one, it stores all of the spells the witch knows, and it can learn new spells in the same sort of ritual from scrolls. However, unlike a familiar, it cannot be taught witch spells by another witch’s familiar.

Additionally, rather than being able to cast any one spell the witch knows once per day, the bonded item can instead spontaneously cast spells from a list based on the nature of the item. Amulets grant body-hardening offensive and defensive spells, fiery blasts, offensive transformations, and the like. Meanwhile, rings grant a wide variety of purely defensive spells. A staff grants spells that weaponize and animate plant matter as well alter earthen material. Wands grant various offensive magics, restorative healing, and some utility and buffing options. And finally, weapons grant various weapon-based buffs, battlefield-controlling spells of great power, and even a few for summoning and empowering siege weapons.

This archetype only grants one ability, but it does a lot to change things up. Being unable to learn directly from other witches is annoying, but gaining a whole extra suite of spells by way of the spontaneous extra slot can make these witches quite versatile indeed, and you don’t have to worry about your familiar catching a stray fireball in most cases! I recommend picking a patron and item based on the sort of build you want to focus on and take spells and hexes to complement that.

Normally, the dynamic of a witch lies in the trio of witch and patron, with the familiar acting as the bridge between the two. Certainly the patron sometimes influences the familiar to communicate with the witch, but for the majority of the time it is its own being with its own personality. A bonded witch, however, cuts out that middleman, and might result in a relationship where the patron talks to the witch much more often and more directly. Depending on the personalities at play, the witch may wish they had a familiar as a buffer, or they might have a deeper, more personable relationship with the being in question.

The Ring of Grandmother Farag has plenty of legends surrounding it, despite only being enchanted with a protection spell. However, the craftsmanship and association with its former owner have helped its legend grow. Some scholars believe a fragment of Grandmother Farag’s patron, Atmu of Many Forms, still resides within, granting it more power than most realize.

Dryads have always had a strong association with their forest homes. Most who rise beyond their station become druids. However, Syva Bloomchild communes with the power of the elements through a staff of living wood she carved from a branch of her bonded oak. The nature of the staff allows her to travel much further than other dryads, and her power to command the elements and the forest itself makes her a very formidable defender.

(art by Tara-bleArt on DeviantArt)

The idea of racial archetypes, or perhaps ancestral archetypes, was that they offered options tied to the culture or anatomy of the creatures that invented them. In my experience though, only a rare few of them could reasonably be truly limited to only one ancestry, and only because of either the anatomy or natural magical abilities of the ancestry that said archetypes tap into.

There is an argument for today’s archetype to be limited only to grippli, but the alchemist class by it’s very nature is at least one third all about inducing strange and perhaps unnatural changes in one’s body with the power of quasi-magical alchemy. So honestly I don’t see why one couldn’t use it with any ancestry.

In any case, today’s subject is our revised take on the bogborn alchemist, representing grippli (and other) alchemists that use the seclusion of wetlands to perform their experiments, both on themselves and on the wildlife.

Now obviously trying to do science in a dirty environment is next to impossible. I mean, sure, you can still mix the concoctions, but the chances of getting replicable results is pretty much nil from all the cross-contamination. Whether your alchemist strives to create a clean space in their domicile or answers the problem by leaning into the element of magic in true alchemy is up to you.

What these alchemists are known for, however, is some useful alterations to their mutagen to make traversing their watery homes that much easier, not to mention leveraging certain advantages of the grippli/tripkee species.

Straight from the get-go, these alchemists learn how to modify their mutagen to develop amphibious traits, altering the limbs to be better at swimming (albeit a bit ungainly) and allow them to properly respirate oxygen from the water through their skin.

Additionally, they can choose to acquire the grippli racial trait of toxic skin if they don’t have it already as an alchemist discovery, likely using an alchemical injection to activate or develop that genetic trait in themselves.

The archetype also has a list of recommended discoveries to take. In this case, most of them have to do with modifying and improving poisons, altering their skin to blend in, creating especially sticky bombs, growing a mutant tentacle, and even bottling quick-growing ooze minions.

This is an exceedingly simple archetype, but it does offer a fun bonus to someone who expects to have to move in and out of aquatic environments regularly. The recommended discovery list lends itself to a build that balances the mutagen, bomb, and poison aspects of the class, but you don’t necessarily have to do that. I do recommend extracts that improve underwater action and poisons though.

For a gripli/tripkee, this path can definitely feel like an alchemist trying to tap into the genetic legacy of their people. Perhaps they see the advantages of their anuran ancestors as just out of reach and seek to put those advantages back into their hands, if not the rest of their species. Perhaps they are a little bit mad and believe their kind should have never left the water. Either way, there is a genetic legacy that they attempt to tap into, for good or ill. Other ancestries lack this connection of course, and no matter their demeanor or intentions do come across as the weird guy who lives in the swamp and wants to be a frog. This isn’t a bad thing, but it will color how others view them.

Boggards are not known for their mastery of science or medicine, preferring to rely on prayers to their dark gods. However, with stolen secrets, the Murkcaller clan has begun a conquest of the marshlands, drinking foul extracts and mutagens to return to more powerful, primeval states, with which they can match their vodyanoi rival’s mystic might. Its only a matter of time before their newfound power gives them the courage to raid the stilt villages near the border of swamp and river.

Cervin Dunwillow has always been a foul, disgusting individual, his ugly, toadlike body mirroring his lecherous, wicked disposition, his money and alchemical concoctions the only reason he is tolerated in the village. No one has seen the man for days, however, some claiming his obsession with amphibians having gone too far.

(art by AngeloIB on DeviantArt)

And so begins another series of updates to my oldest entries, and today we’re focusing on yet another first from the early days of the blog: our first animal companion archetype!

The original version of this analysis was not some of my best writing. Hopefully I can improve upon it here.

Whether you’re playing a druid, hunter, ranger, or one of the many archetypes that gain access to animal companions, there is something magical about the idea of having a cool pet in the form of a creature that can range from something familiar and domestic to something more fantastical that has never been tamed by humans.

Without exception, such companions are deeply loyal creatures, though the road with them can be rocky at times. That loyalty is a big part of the fantasy of having such a companion in the first place, plus it helps justify a wild animal submitting itself to the training and guidance of another creature.

Some companions, however, seem even more loyal than others, defending their master to the very end and beyond, determined to protect and even give their lives if necessary to protect them.

Such companions might have been trained with that in mind, but others might behave this way because of their own, internal reasons, treating their bond as so precious they’d rather die themselves than risk it be severed while they are still alive. Maybe they suffer from terrible loneliness or the need for a pack or herd-like social structure, or maybe they view their master as family. It can be hard to tell exactly why without magic, but what remains true is their utter devotion.

The feats that these companions have access to has a few new additions, namely the ability to improve the defenses of nearby allies and even interpose themselves to protect them, as well as those granting a determined fury that can delay or even overturn effects that would normally risk taking them out of the fight.

Determined to keep their master safe, these companions keep alert and encourage their charge to do the same while nearby.

Riding on pure adrenaline and loyalty, bodyguard companions fight on past the point where they should fall as long as their master remains nearby, and becoming even more ferocious for it.

Always alert, these bodyguards hone their senses to better defend against surprise attack and hidden hazards, as well as guarding their vitals from those that would exploit their weaknesses.

Finally, these companions become so fearsome when heavily injured that they seem to just not die, fighting even more ferociously and ignoring fear to keep their master safe.

If you plan on keeping your companion close to serve as a barrier between you and the baddies, this archetype is certainly a tempting choice, granting you additional defense and the ability to hit back pretty hard, especially in desperate times. A small side benefit is that these companions have a slightly higher survival rate due to the bonus to their death threshold, but since they start bleeding out in this state, it’s not reasonable to maintain them in such a state forever. Be warned though, they lose out on both levels of evasion, so they become more vulnerable to area attacks as a result.

For a lot of characters, it’s probably both reassuring and stressful to have a companion like this, since presumably the hero cares for their companion in the same way that their companion does for them, so seeing them severely hurt probably weighs upon them. Conversely, more villainous or callous characters might have a muted or indifferent response to their companion being hurt. Making the relationship a bit tragic.

Tully is an old warhorse. He’s seen many a cavalier rider in his day, and while they always leave for one reason or another, only one has died while riding him. Some claim that he’s lucky, while others think that the old beast is making up for his failure with his first rider.

The shallows of Herrek are populated by the Crabbrother merfolk, a tribe that has bonded with the armored giant crabs of this grand expanse of natural tidepools. The crustaceans, for their part, have accepted them as their own, defending them with a tenacity that surprises scholars well versed in the behavior of these creatures.

(art by DanielClasquin on DeviantArt)

It’s time for our second to last champion cause, and the last one that had a presence pre-remaster.

Originally called Antipaladins given their chaotic evil nature as a direct opposite of paladins, champions of this cause are meant to be everything a paladin is not. In fact this option is worth noting for the fact that is was in part the First Edition alternate class that shared the same name with this option that paved the way for the champion to evolve out of the paladin, creating powerful divinely-empowered knights that were not all good and just.

But with the remaster came the end of alignment, and with it, the baggage of such holy warriors being divided along that strict system of morality. Instead, champions are now divided based on what they value and what they vow to uphold. And in the case of today’s archetype, these warriors values Iniquity.

Champions of Iniquity are selfish, impulsive, indulgent, and independent. They do exactly what they want when they want, answering only to the divine power that gave them this power in the first place. Even without an alignment system, it’s clear that these figures are the polar opposite of Justice champions (formerly paladins), since they reject any concept of accountability for their actions.

These unholy warriors are not necessarily insane murder-hobos, but their impulses are their guide. If they ever do anything that helps another it is because it also benefits them in some way, most usually in the form of payment, but any agreement they make only holds as long as these iniquitous champions find the benefits outweighing any inconvenience they experience.

At their best, they are pitiless and cruel mercenaries, at their worst, they are petty tyrants with a cosmic benefactor that will do nothing to reign them in because setting them loose is the entire point.

Indeed, unlike other causes, the powers that grant the path of iniquity do not choose someone for their dedication to the concepts, but because of a lack of discipline. They choose their champions because they know that setting them loose will bring about more violence and iniquity as a consequence of their actions, and if any antipaladin expresses any sort of fervor for the cause, it is because they have the brains at least to see that they are making the world more like what they want to see: might making right, whims being indulged, and power seized by those unfettered by the weakness of mercy or hesitation. If the powers granting this might ever tug on the leash, it is when they have a very specific interest in the situation, and then the champion might find their collar much too tight for their liking.

So let’s see what they get!

Like all causes, these champions get a reaction ability, theirs being a punishing aspect of their aura that rewards violence against them with more violence. Foes that strike them within their aura risk their very spirit being shredded by feedback damage. Additionally, the champion’s own reprisal against the offending party becomes more lethal as well. As they grow in power, the damaging effect lingers on such assailants, and even bystanders are not safe as they also take feedback damage.

There is also a feat specifically for this cause. Vicious Vengeance improves the damage caused by their aura, making them all the deadlier to even stand near.

Meanwhile, other feats fit with the tenets of evil and otherwise are just useful for them, such as Conceited Mindset, Aura of Despair, Cruelty, Corrupted Shield, Expand Aura, Smite, Greater Cruelty, Litany of Self-Interest, Gruesome Strike, Pale Horse, Divine Reflexes, Litany of Depravity, Instrument of Slaughter, Fiendish Form, Swift Retribution, and others that fit your build.

This cause loves getting into the thick of things and butchering foes, not just because it’s where a melee class thrives, but also because their reaction makes hitting them back a painful process. With that in mind, this option is begging for a tanky build that can absorb a lot of punishment.

There is no denying that these champions are evil, but with alignments out of the way, replaced by edicts and personal values, it can be less of a headache to justify playing one of these in a non-villain campaign. After all, a champion of iniquity is entirely self-motivated, so being motivated by the prospect of treasure and payment is perfectly viable even if they tend to leave a mess and things worse than they left. It could be the setup for an interesting foil for the rest of the party or a possible redemption arch, especially if the champion doesn’t mind waiting a bit ot achieve their selfish goals on occasion.

Doreji the Blightblooded refuses to hide like the rest of his kin, the vishkanya seeing the tendency of his people to hide their true nature as a weakness and act of supplication. After all, humans cannot punish attackers with the lethal toxicity of their blood. Why should they rule? And who cares if the rest of his kind shun them. They’ve already proven themselves too weak.

To most, Ulrich the Slayer is as he always has been, a cruel man and leader of an especially savage warband. However, in truth he has been dead for some time, his body being now ridden by a xoarian, also known as a corpse rider or intellect devourer. The creature has evaded detection fairly easily since the host was known for drunken forgetfulness and a complete lack of loyalty anyway. Worse still, the horrible aberration has pleased the dark god Ulrich worshipped, transferring his power to the creature.

(art by Hideyoshi on DeviantArt)

It’s been a bit, but it’s time for our third, but perhaps darkest of the artifact archetypes.

In the nation of Galt, decades of perpetual revolution, with each new revolutionary council being executed by the organization known as the Gray Gardeners had left the populous living in fear, and perhaps no larger symbol of that fear exists than the Final Blades.

These soul-trapping guillotine blades, on paper meant to prevent loyalists from resurrecting any rightful heirs or political adversaries elsewhere, were in truth terrible weapons of future devastation devised by the true architect of these events, one that would have plunged the nation into utter ruin if it had succeeded.

However, even with the defeat of the conqueror worm and the disbanding of the Gardeners, the shadow of these blades remains. Many have been ritualistically blunted and rendered empty and inert, but a few are left unaccounted for, including the still-potent shards of Silent Lenore among others that were shattered but not rendered inert.

And it is from the shards of such terrible tools of injustice and cruelty that splinters of finality have been created. These slivers of metal can be inserted harmlessly into the neck of a willing recipient to give the bearer a measure of the lethal power of the final blades at full power, becoming a tool only willingly used by the most ruthless figures.

The sliver of metal weakens the body while so embedded, but in exchange it anchors the soul, warding them against spiritual damage, the depredations of haunts and spirits, and resistance against effects that would sap the mind or soul.

With a gesture, the bearer can draw forth a spectral dagger shaped like a crude weapon made from a shard of metal, which can reach into the ether to slash as incorporeal foes, and has a slight edge of spiritual damage to it that flares up when dealing critical blows.

While the blade cannot increase fear itself, some use the spiritual nature of it to further unnerve foes, preventing them from calming down.

The same way a razor leaves bleeding wounds in flesh, these daggers can leave wounds in the soul that leak vitality. Furthermore, the bearer can draw energy from the bleed to improve their own vitality.

Final blades are traps for the soul, and that purpose gives the shard an urge to draw souls in. This can slow nearby spectral dead and keep a living person alive as their soul is hindered from departing their body. What’s more, in the latter situation that hunger for living souls means the projected blade becomes even more vicious while someone nearby lies on the brink of death.

As they grow in power, the bearers can tap into the souls still trapped in the fragment and weaponize them in various ways. One such way is to weaken the body of their targets or distract them with otherworldly whispers, preventing them from reacting to the actions of others. Another feat allows them the option of cursing foes or marking them to be especially vulnerable to spiritual assault.

Eventually, the shards and their projected blades begin to truly hunger for souls, becoming even more lethal to living creatures they have already stabbed.

Those with a more defensive mindset can briefly surround themselves with the tattered soul fragments of those slain by the original final blade, warding themselves against several esoteric damage types. What’s more, they can extend the duration of this ward by slaying foes.

As shards of a guillotine blade, a master of the splinter can invoke that original purpose for a short while, making the spectral dagger sometimes veer unerringly toward’s a foe’s neck with deadly cutting power.

The most powerful and sinister wielders can empower the fragment enough that it can briefly fulfill the original purpose of trapping souls, at least for a day. During that time, the wielder taps into the soul’s energies to heal themselves. But while the soul normally gets free eventually, a cruel wielder can transfer the trapped soul to a fully functional final blade instead.

This archetype is definitely sinister and not for the morally righteous, but it has a lot of potential, able to deal extra damage, have a always-retrievable dagger that can be upgraded, lay down all sorts of debuffs with some defensive buffs as well… In the hands of a rogue, swashbuckler, or ranger or the like, this can be a deadly weapon and archetype indeed.

This archetype is heavily tied to the Lost Omens setting, but it doesn’t have to be. Any sort of sinister metallic shard of an infamous deadly weapon could potentially be the lore basis here. I can even see the argument for creating similar archetypes involving bigger weapons than just a dagger.

They say one of the fragments of the Scytheshards, broken from the weapon of Death Itself, lies somewhere in the ruins of Holjamin rainforest. Unfortunately for any would-be claimants, the ruins host all sorts of deadly reptilian beasts, including ravenous krooths.

It is the first-year anniversary of the invention of the Aetherphone, a device that allows the user of a transmitter to project voice and sounds across vast distances to those that have a receiver device, connecting people to the heart of news and even musical performances from anywhere in the broadcasting range. However, during the celebratory broadcast, a mysterious person invaded the studio and murdered the host on the air. Now the aetheric devices echo with his death cries while the killer remains at large. Who could have done this and why?

(photomanipulation art by vasanth96520 on DeviantArt)

It’s a common trope these days, especially among anime, that a person’s spiritual power, particularly their fighting spirit, is as mighty as any weapon, sometimes even more so. It should come as no surprise then that the Tian Xia Character guide included an archetype that tapped into those concepts.

No matter where they hail from, the ones called “spirit warriors” have a special understanding with not just their own spirits, but other spiritual beings. As such, they tend to congregate and learn their arts from places like the Forest of Spirits, Chuyokai Forest, and even the Valashmai jungle, where they cultivate their power and use it, in most cases, for the betterment of all.

Some might also be monks, but all do have some basic understanding of qi, and make use of it in their own unique way. What is universal among them is their tendency to fight with a style consisting of a one-handed blade and a free hand, able to slash and strike foes with both with surprising skill.

It’s also fairly easy to adapt to any setting as well, despite the name-drops from earlier. But let’s get right in and see what it has to offer, shall we?

The base dedication for this archetype includes training to improve unarmed strikes to deal more damage and be able to parry incoming attacks. This comes alongside a special combination attack where the warrior strikes with both blade and fist in short succession. If executed properly, the warrior can overwhelm enemy defenses by doing so.

The next three feats are a series of oaths that these martial artists might take, and the training they undergo to fulfill them. The first is an oath to protect innocents from kaiju and other massive monsters. In the pursuit of this, they train to punish the weakness of such beasts, and also to avoid the worst of the devastating attacks of true kaiju.

The second is an oath to aid nature spirits and animals in need, as well as protect the sacred spaces of the natural world. If taken earnestly and upheld, the creatures of nature silently understand that the swordsmaster is a friend and ally, and are more willing to hear them out.

Finally, the third oath is one against hostile and malevolent shapeshifters, protecting people from their predations and trickery. With this goal in mind, they learn quite a bit about shapeshifting creatures, and can use their qi as part of their combination attack to try and force such foes to reveal their true form.

Neither the fist nor the blade is inferior to the other in this style, and not only do these combatants use one to open up foes to the other, but they even learn how to channel the power of a set of magical handwraps into the weapon, allowing both blade and fist to benefit from them at the same time.

Whether they harden their hand to be able to take a blow with qi, or they simply are deft at catching and redirecting blows, the open hand of these warriors can be nearly as good as any shield.

Channeling their own spirit into their attacks, these combatants can strike the spirit of a foe alongside their flesh for additional damage.

A classic ability of anime and video games, many learn the art of projecting their sword slashes or martial fists from afar as ranged projectiles, whether it be them cutting or pummeling the air supernaturally or invoking and projecting their qi to do so.

Some master enough spiritual power to master the God’s Palm technique, allowing them to strike entirely with spirit damage or channel that focused qi back into themselves on impact to gain temporary vitality.

With a gesture, some learn to create a ward around themselves and others, the better to protect innocents and allies.

Devoted as many are to saving lives, some learn to channel their defense into sacrificing a held weapon to absorb all of an incoming attack against themselves or an ally, though they can just as easily draw another.

Many others also learn to disarm foes with their free hand to rob them of such attacking implements.

The most powerful among them are able to channel their qi into a strike to place a magic seal on a foe, locking them in place temporarily.

While the basics of this archetype are basically getting a special two-prong attack with one action, it does offer a lot of ways to improve that, dealing extra damage, being able to attack at range, and even defensive abilities that protect others. The free-handed combat style lends itself well to the magus and swashbuckler classes, though pretty much anyone can make use of it to varying degrees.

This archetype has some heroic elements baked right in with the feats that help them protect others. However, you’re not required to take any of those, and I could easily see a villain stat block borrowing abilities based on this archetype, channeling spiritual power for entirely selfish reasons.

For many Swordsmasters, losing a limb is a career-ender. However, Denja was not so easily dissuaded. With the help of a legendary engineer, the young man crafted a prosthesis that let him wield a blade again, and with it, he took up a humble but powerful style that tapped into his spirit, tempered by humility and determination as it was.

Dobohagenei, the Serpent of Many Legs, is said to dwell in the valleys of Haiyada, and the vanara people know all too well the truth of such legends. As such, many of their elite warriors are trained not just to fight off monsters and brigands in the mountains, but also to guide and evacuate people when the Serpent awakens and rampages.

(art by johnsonting on DeviantArt)

Another chapter of the blog has begun today, for it marks the very first time we’ve covered a Starfinder Second Edition archetype on the blog! And what a fun one it is!

Just as pirates hunted ships across the briney seas of old, so too do space pirates ply the spacelanes, targeting shipping freighters and poorly-defended vessels before slipping back into the cover of asteroid belts and other dangerous cosmic phenomena.

In the Starfinder setting, the most common pirates are the Free Captains, a conglomerate organization of crews and their vessels that are beholden to their own code, but certainly other unaffiliated crews also exist.

Regardless of allegiance, space pirates share both the danger of their occupation but also the romanticism with the pirates of yore. After all, when someone abandons civilization to become a pirate, the only law that they recognize are the ones that they impose of themselves, and there is a sort of honor in that. Of course, this also means that encounters with a pirate can vary between a sort of wild nobility that is as good as their word, and unscrupulous captains that will betray any deal or promise if it means a profit, and freighter crews and the like hope that particular gamble goes in their favor. That being said, such a backbiting scallywag can expect to find themselves targeted if their travels find themselves in more honorable pirate crew territory.

In any case, today’s archetype promises to grant some thematic abilities to those that play the starry sea. Be warned though, some of these abilities definitely reflect a moral compass that might unnerve some, but like all feats, they are optional.

The base dedication for this archetype includes pilot training and familiarity with some traditional weapons of piracy. Additionally, they equip their gear with a holographic projector programmed to project the image of their own ship’s Jolly Roger, aiding in their ability to intimidate others.

Adding insult to injury in a very literal way, many pirates send a verbal jab in the direction of a foe that one of their allies damaged, shaking up their confidence in the process.

Others that prefer heavier weapons instead strike fear with their menancing laughter that remains audible even over the roar of their guns, terrifying even as they suppress their foes.

Rushing into battle, many pirates wield a gun in one hand and a light melee weapon in the other, and often use the pistol to soften up a foe as they approach and follow up with their other weapon.

Indeed, this propensity for wielding two weapons means they typically practice to draw and aim with their weapons together in one fluid motion.

Their two-weapon fighting style also lets them block with their melee weapon and fire their pistol at close range into their foe.

Even when not blocking, they can fire and swing in quick unison at close range to keep the pressure up.

A fearsome ability only used by especially ruthless pirates, some that wield phase cutlasses learn an occult trick to trap the souls of their foes inside the blade, releasing them only when forcing them to serve as a wisp ally in combat as a magical form of press-ganging beyond the grave. Such an imprisonment is temporary, but certainly does not sit well with many folks.

Intimidation and two-weapon fighting are the name of the game with this archetype, so playing a space pirate can make a mixed range and melee character even better, or can lend a bit of that to casters and other non-frontline classes. No matter what class you choose, you’ll likely be relying on opening with intimidation debuffs and following up as a whirlwind of attacks on the battlefield.

As far as archetypes go, I’m pretty glad we started our coverage of Starfinder Second Edition with this one. You can’t have interstellar adventures without space pirates, after all! Now if only we could see some space combat rules…

After void oozes were discovered in the derelict ship that came to be called Shadowed Persistence, the craft was given a wide berth by any would-be salvagers. However, that avoidance also means the wreck is a perfect meeting place for space pirates seeking to touch base with other crews parked near the derelict.

There are a lot of rumors abound about Captain Boneforest. Some believe that the copaxi was a former ecologist that left her homeworld when it became clear that her people were driving their planet’s ecology to ruin, other that she left after being ousted from a political position. The only thing that is known for certain is that she is very old indeed.

(art by BriMerry on DeviantArt)

I would like to preface tonight’s entry by saying that using words that have their own meaning for rpg things can be an exercise in frustration. Sure, I get it. Nobody is using the word “seneschal” in the modern parlance, but people would use the term in the context of… oh I don’t know, a quasi-medieval roleplaying game. But what are the odds of such a crossing of wires happening with today’s subject?

Now, to be fair, the word “seneschal” does include being a steward for a noble, as well as one that ministers to lower-ranking servants in the definition, so I SUPPOSE it works.

In the wake of the Godsrain and the War of Immortals in the Pathfinder core setting, a lot of powers have been duking it out or going missing in this cosmic shakeup/editorial pruning. The list of deities that are either dead, gone missing, or just quietly nixed or revised from the setting are plenty, but less overtly covered are other minor powers, the sort of beings that serve as patrons to witches.

Whether their patron was a god or a servant of a god for divine-tradition witches, or their patron got caught in the crossfire of all this ruckus for everyone else… Something has made many patrons go silent. The power of the connections they once offered still exist, but they themselves no longer seem present to give advice or issue demands anymore.

Some may see their patron as lost and give up witchcraft, but not the ones that come to be known as seneschals. Such mystics instead hold on tight to the frayed end of that connection, retaining their power. Such individuals practice much the same as any other witch, but now their new spells and hexes and lessons are self-taught by tapping into what remains of their former patron’s body of knowledge, like a scholar piecing together understanding from their late teacher’s study.

In time, the open-ended bond they have becomes more a part of them, and the greatest of them all might fully transcend, becoming patrons in their own right. Perhaps this is how Baba Yaga and other patrons that are otherwise moral (or immortal) spellcasters achieve such a state?

To be clear, of course, the Godsrain, while the framing device here, is not the direct cause of becoming a seneschal. As such, this flavor of witchcraft can show up in any setting or time period as long as one thing remains true: the witch’s patron has gone silent.

Naturally, this is a class archetype, only available to witches. However, unlike many class archetypes we’ve covered in the past few months, this one actually feels like it deserves to be an archetype rather than just being a normal class option with extra steps. So let’s get into it!

Like all class archetypes, this one alters something at first level before you take the dedication. In this case, because the patron is not present for the witch to learn from directly, they lose out on the first lesson, instead gaining a spell of their choice as they experiment on their own, and also the ability to tap into the frayed connection, manifesting their will in a raw surge of power that conceals  them from those outside the radius, but has various effects on those that enter it based on the tradition the witch draws upon. Foes become vulnerable to damaging spells when under the influence of arcane witches, while those that tap into the divine infuse living or undead allies with vital energy. Occult seneschals ward their allies with protective sigils, and primal casters are surrounded by constantly surging waves of plant growth as vegetation blooms, withers, and is replaced.

The base dedication for this archetype allows the mage to use the severed end of their patron bond to metaphysically bond to another ally (though not a minion), allowing them to keep taps on them and cast beneficial spells from a distance on them. They can even use the bond to invoke their aura of will through their charge instead as long as they are close enough.

While they are not their patron, some seneschals learn magic to alter their appearance to match their patron, or at least a facsimile if they didn’t have a humanoid form. While not useful for laying low, this disguise might come in handy for demonstrating an otherworldly nature, working in the same circles as their patron once did, or even simply just hiding their own identity when something flashy and otherworldly is still better than their own face.

Some of these mystics enhance the connection so much that they can use their current ward as the conduit for their own spellcasting, originating spells through them.

Skilled mystics might learn to diversify and expand the power they manifest when creating their aura of will, able to gain and shift between the benefits available to other traditions, while also helping ward against hostile magic of the same tradition.

While the true nature of patrons is varied, their mystical abilities do in part make them spiritual beings. Some of these witches can leverage that to change the damage of their spells to raw spiritual energy if that would be more effective.

It is said that some powers are able to see and hear anything witnessed by one of their symbols. By claiming the symbol of their lost patron, some seneschals can do the same, creating a subtle spying tool onto any surface they can carve or draw on, though only the most recent symbol holds any power.

Some witches with healing magic can give just a bit more of themselves when casting, weakening themselves to enhance the healing magic.

Patrons are known for speaking to their witches remotely, and some seneschals mimic that, able to pass short magical messages to anyone they’ve ever bonded with.

As they begin to take up the mantle of a patron, some of these mystics learn how to grant knowledge of a single spell to their charge (or one of their charges if they took the Witch’s Communion feat).

With uncanny foresight, either granted by some echo of their patron or their own developing prescience, these mages can steel themselves against an incoming mental effect to better resist it.

Others begin exuding the raw power and authority of a patron, punishing any foe that dares harm them with spiritual backlash.

Finally, the most powerful witches can choose to fully embrace the mantle of seneschal and become a patron in their own right. With it, they gain sight beyond sight that pierces the dark and illusions. Additionally, they can act as a patron for other witches, treating witches of a patron theme of their choosing as their wards even if they themselves did not make a pact with them specifically. Additionally, they learn the secrets of the wish ritual, and can influence and bolster the wishes of witches they patronize should they choose to.

This archetype is a fascinating take on becoming the very source of power that you and others might draw upon, almost like a non-mythic decaf version of the Godling mythic destiny. As far as it goes, this archetype offers you the ability to create a useful magical aura and select one or more allies to buff and protect in various ways, as well as some useful utility and combat powers. If it appeals to your play style and character, I say go for it.

The entire metaphysical premise of this archetype is fascinating. Even though the patron is missing or even dead, the connection with them still exists, which is actually kinda heartfelt no matter what the relationship between the patron and the witch actually was, and it perfectly illustrates the real difference between patrons, even divine ones, and deities, and how they grant power to witches as opposed to clerics or oracles.

For centuries, the Wall of Laws has been a touchstone of dwarven tradition, a semi-sentient artifact of the rules and truths that dwarves must live by. Occasionally, it even granted knowledge to practitioners that served as it’s agents. Now, however, the monolith has been shattered, casting dwarven culture adrift with uncertainty. Dangroth the Last Word, however, keeps the faith, and his devotion seems to be paying off.

Like scavengers stalking a beast near death, fiends have long preyed upon the broken xulgath civilization, offering tainted power in exchange for prayer and pushing them towards greater acts of cruelty and savagery. Seeking a better life for her people, Ulbraxix has sought a different power, one she approached on her own terms… However, when that spirit was slain, she opened her heart to that remaining connection rather than fall into despair. Now, she is on the verge of becoming something else, a beacon of hope.

(art by LittleWelshArtist on DeviantArt)

Before there were style feats, there was a series of feats for monks and unarmed builds that didn’t have a name or special rules, but still evoked the idea of special martial techniques. Some of them even had “style” in the name. It’s pretty clear from the fact that some of these were in the core rulebook that A. The writers liked the idea of martial artists having more special techniques than just stunning fist and quivering palm, and B. They really wanted to express martial arts styles somehow, but hadn’t fully figured it out yet. Heck, give it a few more years, and we wouldn’t have had to wait for Starfinder 1e and later Pathfinder 2e to get martial artists using their ki to do their best Dragonball Z/fighting game impression with flight and energy blasts and such.

But it is those early technique feats that we’ll be focusing on today and the sort of tricks and debuffs that they could deliver with them, among other things. If you pay attention, you might even see in them the precursors of a few other things that bore fruit in Second Edition too, such as martial art styles including special strikes with their own damage type when one enters the stance for one.

Obviously, most of these require Improved Unarmed Strike to even take in the first place, either by way of the feat or by being a monk or brawler. A few others require Stunning Fist as well.

The first set of these are Scorpion Strike, which lets the warrior target the limbs to hamper speed, followed by Gorgon’s Fist to stagger them. Next up is Medusa’s Wrath, which if a follow-up granting extra attacks to a hindered foe. Finally, there is Cockatrice Strike, that can actually turn a foe to stone on a lucky strike against a hindered foe, dipping into actual supernatural territory.

Next up is Adder’s Strike, which allows them to effectively use poison on their unarmed strikes without poisoning themselves, as well as Pinpoint Poisoner, that adds darts to the mix.

Inspired by the devils of hell, there are also several techniques named after them. Belier’s Bite gives them training on dealing bleeding wounds. Next is Hamatulatsu, which lets them deal stabbing wounds with stiffened fingers, followed by Hamatula Strike, which lets them grapple and hold foes they’ve stabbed, and Hamatula Grasp, that improves the harm they do.

Other techniques are more mundane, like the Ki Throw line, Punishing Kick, Perfect Strike, and so on.

Others are blatantly supernatural, such as Nightmare Fist, Nightmare Weaver, and Nightmare Striker, which improve the ability to fight in darkness, intimidate foes while creating magical darkness, and punish foes marked by faerie fire, all of which makes sense as a martial art created for and by the drow.

Stepping aside from those requiring knowledge of punching, Spider Step and Cloud Step are both monk only feats that are clearly special techniques, allowing the monk to run on walls and even air briefly.

(art by EmberAndSparks on DeviantArt)

Next on the docket, we have a set of feats that I’m kinda surprised I haven’t talked about before on the blog: Meditation feats!

In the real world, meditation is a practice where a person tries to relieve stress by emptying their mind. A lot of people mistakenly assume this means “don’t think anything for hours”, but that’s not entirely true. What it really means is to let go of the thoughts that are lingering in your head and just experience the world around you, observing every sight, sound, and feeling, to be present in the moment, to just take a moment to enjoy the peace and quiet. Sure, you may have thoughts during that time, but you let them come and go rather than focus on them. There are obviously variations and goals, but that’s the general idea, and it’s not for everyone.

In fantasy media, meditation comes with the trappings of sometimes superhuman displays of power that can colloquially be referred to as “monk bullshit.”

However, meditation is not solely the purview of monks, and many other characters might gain benefit from the practice and find uses for a cinematic and fanciful take on stillness of the mind.

Which is why these meditation feats exist. While certainly having a monk vibe, they are open to pretty much any class, requiring only a decent wisdom score and character level.

This set of feats begins with one that serves as the prerequisite for everything else. Meditation Master, as it is called, lets you meditate during your daily prep, and by doing so, you get a little bonus you can use once in the day for any d20 roll. It’s not much, but it’s basically a free guidance casting that lasts all day. However, from there we get feats that let you add even more effects thanks to that morning meditation.

Basically progression in this feat tree has three branches (and one straggler). The first alphabetically is Body Control. With it, the character uses their meditation to become more and more aware of their own body. Have you ever just taken a moment to ignore everything around you and feel your blood pumping through your body? It’s basically that, but more so. With it, the character gets a flat bonus to Fort saves, and can go longer without food, water and rest as they subtly control their own body consciously. With Bend with the Wind, this expands to temperature regulation, giving them some resistance to heat and cold, and with Body Mastery, their flesh becomes tougher and more resistant to injury. Also, as a small aside, while not needing Body Control, the Sensory Control reflects the meditating character sharpening their own senses by just paying attention to them more, enhancing their sense of smell and night vision.

Next up is the Mindful Meditation line. While real mindful meditation is about actively working to examine thoughts and let them go, this feat does harden the mind against mental subversion with a Will save buff, and makes it harder to trick or intimidate them as well. From there we have Perfect Awareness granting a once per day sudden burst of perceptiveness, picking up on things that might slip by them. Mindfulness Mastery meanwhile gives them a resolve that can help them try and overcome a mental effect a few moments after they would otherwise succumb. Finally, those who have a Perfect Center can resist all distraction, taking a normal amount of effort even in stressful situations.

And finally, we have the Combat Meditation, which in addition to granting focus to be able to succeed even when defeat seems assured in various rolls, but it also lets them briefly focus to gain the benefits of all their meditation feats for a short time if they were unable to properly meditate earlier. Spellcasters often learn Meditative Concentration, which naturally let’s them maintain focus more easily even when casting spells in hazardous conditions or when attacked by swarming creatures. Some become so focused they seem to Slow Time, or more accurately, boost their own speed and processing power to move and attack faster for a short time when they focus in combat. Additionally, that combat focus can be trained to last longer with Extended Combat Meditation. Finally, those with Greater Combat Meditation perfect it further, able to use more focus on a task to split a smaller amount of focus between two tasks.

(art by captdiablo on DeviantArt)

A funny thing about magic in both mythology and fiction is that is pretty much does anything that the writer feels it should. Sure, there are plenty of magic systems in fiction with their own rules for how they work, but all of that can fly out the window the moment the author had a neat idea to solve a problem in the story (or start one), they want to shake things up a bit, or they just forgot.

A result we sometimes see with this is magical items that seem pretty flexible in what they can do. Sometimes a magic item just does whatever the writer wants it to be able to do at the time, and sometimes it has established powers, but then the writer comes up with a clever application for that power or just pull a new power for it out of their patoot with varying degrees of justification.

And that’s all fine and good for storytelling (much to the disagreement of an army of internet armchair writers that think that internal consistency is somehow the point of writing stories), but this gets a little tricky in gaming, where the magical properties of the various doodads the party picks up not only obey the rules of whatever magical system is associated with the world, but with the rules of the game itself. A magic weapon only provides the benefits listed in it’s stats.

However, as we’ve established, a magic item that can do a lot of things isn’t necessarily bad writing, and there is an appeal in a character that can do a lot of things with their signature magic sword or staff or whatever.

Which is where we get the Item Mastery feats. Heavily associated with the Relic Master archetype for fighter, these feats are available to anyone who can meet the prerequisites, and are meant to emulate the vibe of a character being able to do a lot more things with a magic item that on paper has limited usage.

The reasons for why and how are deliberately left vague. Maybe they have a special quality that unlocks the items potential. Maybe the item could always do that and the character is innovative enough to exploit that. Or maybe it’s like the magical equipment of jury rigging a machine to perform a very different function. No matter the reason, these wielders can unlock various other exploits and tricks based on the schools of magic in the items they wield and wear.

So, the feats in this category can be subdivided into two major subsets. The first and most numerous of them are the feats that allow the wielder to replicate the effects of several classic spells that are indicative of a school of magic by fiddling with the workings of a magic item that includes that school among it’s aura. Energy Mastery lets you blast foes with cones and lines of elemental energy based on the elements associated with the item, Concealment and Illusion Master grant invisibility and minor image from illusion items, Teleportation Mastery let’s the user cast dimension door with a conjuration item, and so on.

The other set is pretty much “everything else” but includes the likes of Implement Mastery allowing an occultist to use their implements for the other item mastery feats even if they themselves aren’t technically magic items, or firing beams of various flavors of divine wrath from a holy symbol with the Symbolic Mastery feats.