#caulborn

(art by KoruXypress on DeviantArt)

One thing I appreciate about the Pathfinder core setting is that it finds ways to incorporate a little of everything.

You are all by this point very familiar with the well-known examples of this: things like warring kingdoms, science and sorcery ancient spaceship crashes, ruin-riddled ancient empires, and all are just a few examples, but when we start to move further away from the Inner Sea Region, we start to see some curious dips away from medieval fantasy, and even see a few influences from later eras of real-world history.

This is where we see things like magical arcades in certain metropolises in Tian Xia, and more relevant to today’s entry, steam-powered vehicles in Alkenstar.

Whether it’s boats, wheeled machines, or even rare flying dirigibles and other vessels, self-propelled machines are a game changer, putting direct control of the vehicle in the hands of the driver, rather than having to manage pulling animals.

In this way, the vehicle almost becomes an extension of the driver’s body as they learn to feel it’s limits and how hard they can push them.

And with that, we can see how trick drivers, who push their vehicles to the limit and perform feats of agility with them, can really shine, drifting and sliding in chases or potentially in traditional battle.

Now, obviously if your campaign doesn’t use such vehicles, this archetype doesn’t seem necessary, but if it does, it might be worth considering.

The base dedication for this archetype grants greater mastery of driving, intuitively piloting any vehicle by feel rather than intellectual knowledge, all using one skill for flying, floating, and rolling vehicles alike.

Such drivers are also very good at optimizing their speed, making improvements to the vehicle itself and choosing a course that minimizes slowdown, allowing them to cut down on long-distance travel time.

Normally one has to slow down to make a turn with a vehicle, but some master the art of hairpin turns, letting them Akira slide or the flying/boating equivalent to change their facing while continuing to move.

Boarding a moving vehicle is very dangerous, but for some this is old hat, letting them quickly get to the controls in one fluid motion.

Some apply their high-speed antics in more tactical scenarios, pushing the speed of the vehicle in the short term rather than the long term.

A moving vehicle can be a deadly weapon in the hands of some pilots, and some train to maximize this, running over and ramming larger targets than normal.

Combat driving wouldn’t be the same if you couldn’t attack while driving too, and some drivers do exactly that, maintaining control and striking foes as they move past.

If your campaign takes place with the assumption that vehicles will be readily available, this archetype can be tempting, and there is no prerequisite, though casting classes will probably not choose it since they have a lot of demand for their actions in combat. Beyond that, I can easily imagine the fighter that jousts from a motorcycle, the gunslinger getaway driver firing their pistol out the window, and so on.

While not all of these drivers necessarily have the technical knowhow to build their vehicles, most will, so character studies on hot rodders, ace pilots, and the like are all quality inspiration for a character that leans heavily into this archetype, but don’t let that limit you either. What is universally true, however, is their love of going fast and being in complete control of their vehicle.

The Excelsior Engine Grand Prix boasts some of the most daring inventors, engineers, and pilots in the world, there to show off their latest designs for the fastest vehicles, and it attracts many curious sorts, including Galen the centaur, who had to design his vehicle from the ground up to accommodate his unique anatomy.

Two rival engineers have suddenly come upon the same problem: they’ve both forgotten the details of their latest vehicular inventions, and the blueprints were stolen as well. Both accuse the other, but the true culprit is a caulborn that devoured their memories and stole the plans. But who hired the psychic entity?

“The primary storage mechanisms that caulborn use to store information are living brains, cultivated like plants to store the information of their masters.”

Like a weird fleshy balloon...

 Whether it’s included to give children something to be entertained by, or something that sets a detective apart from others in the genre, there is a long-standing offshoot of detectives in stories that have animal companions of some kind.

Such animals are almost universally much smarter than they should be, and assist the investigator in surprising ways, ranging from sniffing out clues, delivering messages, spying on suspects, or even occasionally rescuing their master from harm.

Though normally such an animal is hardly the only one they rely on, this archetype is nevertheless an homage to that trope which I imagine quite a few folks have enjoyed.

 Essentially, the animal of the investigator is a familiar, their intellect being a product of magical ritual much like any familiar, though they can also benefit from the investigator’s extracts.

What really sets them apart, however, is their ability to make brilliant leaps of reasoning just like their master, drawing from the same pool of inspiration, though only in the most basic ways.

Part of the cost for this bond is spending less time developing the ability to strike deadly blows after studying their prey for a while.

They do, however, eventually learn the techniques to gain an improved familiar, either replacing or augmenting their previous one.

This archetype also is associated with a handful of talents, such as those that enhance their ability to work with others and notice things.

A fairly simple archetype that gives the investigator a useful ally that can go where they cannot, and benefit from the investigator’s inspiration ability, which is often quite useful for providing an edge while on their own. Just keep in mind that your average bonus damage from studied combat is going to go down a bit.

 Typically, the animal or creature that the investigator chooses as their companion is native to the local region, the better to blend in with the ordinary denizens and not stand out. That being said, there is something to be said about having an iconic pet, just remember that in such a case they’ll have to rely more on actual stealth and not just blending into the background.

  Rumor has it that an infernal mechanism, literally a fragment of a war machine of Hell, has been smuggled into the city for some nefarious purpose. Detective Aman has a personal interest in finding the device, one tied to his clockwork familiar Ibi.

 The raven familiar of an investigator goes missing, only to turn up later having trouble remembering that it even had a master in the first place. It turns out caulborns are involved in the current case, and they are not afraid of devouring memories to keep their secret.

“It’s as if you took a person, and stripped away their hunger for food, for water, for companionship, for argument, for love, for war, and in their place filled them with nothing but a terrible yawning hunger for knowledge.”

-Yaekar the Mad, on Caulborn

“Known. Thought. Become.”

Caulborn are an ancient race of interplanar scholars, who supposedly either hail from the Astral Plane or the Ethereum. They are collectors of information, willing to purchase parts of peoples’ memories in exchange for some of the lore from their great libraries.

 The vigilante class, at its core, is a stealthy figure whom is able to dissociate their social and vigilante identities in order to carry out their goals, for good or ill.

Today, we are looking at the very depths of the ill side of things.

By definition, a serial killer is a mass murderer that kills their victims in repeatable, ritualistic ways, which may or may not include calling cards and taunting messages to the authorities.

In the context of the Pathfinder system, however, serial killers also gain the benefits of being able to fully disguise their own demeanor and designs until the time comes to take off the mask and kill.

While it is tempting to make blanket statements about the status of serial killer mental states, doing so does more to harm those with actual mental illnesses than it does help identify would-be killers.

Indeed, while some are indeed unstable, others are uncannily sane, their wickedness stemming from an absolute lack of morality. This makes them all the more disturbing when the veneer of civility drops away and reveals the monster they truly are.

 Given the nature of their work, serial killers are universally evil, and specialize in the stealthier side of being a vigilante.

Constantly paranoid of being discovered, these murderers almost casually work to minimize the amount of information that is available about them, both socially, as well as obscuring their tracks to avoid being followed.

Just as they obsess over their next victim, they also meticulously study foes in combat, taking advantage of every weakness.

They also put their best foot forward when hiding their true selves, making them seem genuinely likable and worthy of respect and aid to the unsuspecting.

Mirroring the deadly precision of assassins, these killers can, after reading a target, end a life in an instant.

As part of their obsession, these brutal figures have a modus operandi which makes their handiwork instantly recognizable. It may be a specific method of defiling the corpse afterwards, or a particular type trinket they leave behind, but once a kill is so marked, their infamy spreads as everyone instantly knows who was responsible.

Additionally, their kills are often so gruesome as to disturb those who not only witness it first-hand, but also examine the scene later, haunting their sleep.

Finally, serial killers also learn the assassin arts of quiet killings, and later, of killing even faster.

This is the very picture of an NPC villain archetype, one that likely does not have a place even in most villain campaigns, as the character would have little motivation beyond fulfilling their obsession with murder. That being said, this archetype works well with distinctive builds, such as specializing in a particular weapon type, as well as building with deception and information gathering in mind.

 While rarely if ever suitable for players, a serial killer might be a compelling foe for the party, either the final encounter of a murder mystery, or a lesser minion in a greater scheme. Like all horror-based aspects of roleplay, make an effort to understand your player’s limits beforehand, working within them to describe the visceral evil and cruelty behind every body they discover.

  Even after the death of the Joyful Slasher, their dark work continues, leading to the discrediting of the ones who apprehended her. This is because a group of caulborn, including one of their crestomath cousins, attempted to preserve the murderer’s memories for posterity, but got more than what they bargained for, an imprint of her deviant personality infecting the cadre, compelling them to continue her work.

 The Knife Collector always leaves a unique masterwork blade embedded in the heart of their victims. Such exotic blades would surely make tracking down such a murderer an easy task, but so far no leads have turned up. Therefore, either the killer orders them through black markets from afar, or they themselves are a master blacksmith.