#ginever

 Legacy is something that serves as a motivation for many characters. Many wish to leave behind something for future generations, but others may wish to uncover what their own ancestors left behind for them.

The latter come in a few different forms, such as those discovering a forgotten or hidden aspect of their family history for the first time, or nobles devoting their time to obsessing over the greatness of their forebearers.

Where that interest or obsession meets with occult magic, an ancestral aspirant can sometimes result, resulting in occultists that focus above all else on the psychic resonance of their ancestors’ deeds.

While some can come off as being wholly absorbed with just researching and basking in the glory of those who came before, this archetype does give them the tools to instead drawn upon that history to fuel great acts of their very own, joining the annals of their family’s heroics.

 Given the focus they have on the most precious heirlooms of their family, they universally start with an implement made from the most expensive jewelry of their noble house, the “family jewels” as it were. This guarantees that they start with power over enchantment first and foremost.

Rather than read the emotions left on objects, these mystic nobles learn to sense similar emotions in others, allowing them to judge their reactions and mood with incredible ease.

What’s more, rather than have otherworldly contacts, these occultists instead draw upon much more mundane information networks, contacting other nobles magically to not only glean secrets but even set up rumor mill campaigns against their foes.

A simple archetype that makes for a more social occultist than most, this option may not always be true nobility, but they can nonetheless offer an edge in the social scene. Being guaranteed to start with the enchantment school does mean that your build is guaranteed to have an arsenal of buffs, debuffs, and control is also worth mentioning, so keep that in mind.

 The thing about delving into your family secrets is that you may not like what you find. Anything from an ignoble history to dark secrets to outright villainy, which is a bit cliché, but can also be quite engaging in the right hands.

  Having discovered that she is descended from a great iruxi matriarch who was alive before the fall of their people, Madaxhi is determined to find as many relics of her family and of the lizardfolk people as she can, even hiring foreign adventurers to help her reclaim her legacy.

 Noticing an oddity in the archives, Alessandro has been looking deep into his family’s history, since they seem to have cropped up out of nowhere nearly a century ago, but were treated as if they had always been there. The more he delves, the more everything seems to revolve around a mysterious deck of cards.

 One of the earliest weapons ever invented, the spear is a simple but versatile weapon, and is the ancestor of pretty much any piercing weapon that came after it. Longer spears can strike while keeping foes at bay, while shorter, lighter ones can be used as a ranged weapon in an emergency, or as ammunition if carried in bulk.

Additionally, the haft of the spear in the right hands can be used to block similarly to a quarterstaff. That, and the fact that attacking with it uses your foes’ own momentum just as much as your own in many cases, means you don’t have to be especially strong to get use out of it, though obviously strength helps.

While we’ve seen fighter archetypes that effectively use spears and polearms in conjunction with shields, today we’re looking at a fighter that specializes in using spears and those in the same category by themselves, mastering this ancient and time-honored design.

 Rather than train with the heaviest armors and tallest shields, they instead prefer more medium armors. What’s more, while they can use shields, they prefer not to, training to dodge foes attacks, including dancing around foes to get in position, their spears making for an excellent counterbalance.

What’s more, they can also use their weapon to parry and knock aside incoming attacks, replying with their own. While this puts their own weapon out of position briefly, it still can provide adequate protection. Over time, their mastery grows to mitigate this weakness.

As one might expect, these fighters train with their spear-type weapons to the near exclusion of all others.

A simple archetype that provides a different way to block incoming damage, it might appeal to some. The biggest trick is to know when to parry and when to let your armor take the hit. Definitely do your research to find feats and the like that let you fight from multiple ranges while using spears, and build with tanking in mind and high accuracy.

 There’s actually a decent selection of weapons that fall under the spear group, so pretty much any culture and tradition from around the world might serve as a good basis for your character. Others that study different types of weaponry may mock the spear for it’s primitive origins, but there’s no denying it’s might when brought to bear on foes.

  Once a famed hero, Urmon the Spear is now nothing more than the town drunk, getting by on what good graces and patience his hometown still has for him. Little does anyone know that he is being preyed upon by a spirit of inebriation turned flesh, a ginever, seeking to make a meal out of the fallen hero.

 Favored for their simple, thrusting attacks that don’t interfere with wings during flights, spears are actually fairly common among the wyvaran, and true masters can be seen by the way they time a javelin toss with a powerful downbeat of their wings to avoid interfering with each other.