#monkey goblin

In the real world, the Jinyiwei, or “Embroidered Uniform Guard” was a secret police organization founded in the 14th century by the Hongwu Emperor in order to root out corruption and insurrection from within, able to overturn and ignore the judicial proceedings to arrest, interrogate, and punish anyone in the kingdom, including nobility and even the emperor’s own relatives.

Ostensibly this body would help preserve the empire with only the Emperor themselves to answer to, able to arrest and prosecute politically untouchable figures should they become enemies of the state.

Buuuuut if you’ve ever heard the term “secret police” in regards to world history before, you probably know how this goes. At best, the Jinyiwei were used as assassins to eliminate rivals, and at worse, were just as corrupt and capable of abusing their own power.

Who knew a paramilitary group answerable to literally only one man would be a bad idea for everyone?

However, for all it’s real faults, the Jinyiwei we’re describing today is a bit different than the real thing. For one, the Mandate of Heaven is actually real with gods and divine dragons granting power and authority to rule empires.

However, corruption remains, and the Jinyiwei of the Lung Wa empire was created to counteract and root out this corruption that drove the bureaucracy of the nation into the dirt, but in the end they failed, falling to corruption itself until the empire fractured and crumbled, robbing them of any authority.

But why the original Lung Wa Jinyiwei are long gone, there are those across Tian Xia that take inspiration from them, and seek to emulate them as they stand against the corruption that poisons governments and ruins nations.

Such dedication grants these investigators a bit of divine power, which they use alongside their keen minds to bring justice to the land, even if they aren’t quite as unimpeachable as their ancient predecessors.

The result is a sort of fusion of investigator and inquisitor, as we’ll soon see.

Careful consideration and insight, as well as the blessing of the divine is what fuels these investigators. As such, their inspiration is powered by their wisdom rather than intelligence, and instead of using alchemy they cast spells, drawing magic from the same arsenal as inquisitors.

Like the Jinyiwei of old, they understand that corruption and deception can be anywhere, and are especially skilled at noticing lies, forgeries, and disguises, as well as that which is hidden, be it a person or secret containers and doors.

Their suspicion also guards them against the magics of deception, enchantments and illusions, helping them avoid falling under their sway and pierce the false reality they create.

Finally, their divine mandate goes so far as to allow them to unleash divine judgement as inquisitors do, albeit somewhat less skillfully.

With the combination of the inquisitor spell list, geared towards information gathering, buffing, debuffing, and divine wrath; as well as their knack for discovering all types of deception, this archetype plays a bit more of a support and combat role than the vanilla inquisitor before even taking talents into account. As such, A combat build seems like a good choice here, one that can learn about the enemy and set up spells and tactics beforehand to take them down.

As written, the lore states that these individuals are not part of an organization, extrajudicial or otherwise. As such, their desire to follow such a path and endorse such ideals may be considered a relic of the past, and what that means will vary by nation and by individuals. Some may mock them as deluded fools clinging to ideals and a nation that no longer exists, others may honor them as a symbol of better days, or revile them as echoes of a past that needed to burn or as the shadow of a threat to the new order. Or, you know, in your setting their organization may still exist, and may or may not a blight upon the people in the way that secret police tend to be.

Through terrible coincidence and just bad luck, the party has accidentally slain one of the sacred white-antlered deer that only the emperor may hunt, and now they are on the run, chased by the mask-wearing secret order that answers only to His Holy Eminence.

A chance encounter can change your life, and so it was with Jinga, a monkey goblin who stumbled upon an aging old hermit on his island home who taught him about the great empire and how he was once one of it’s secret guardians, blessed by the gods. Jinga looked up to him so much that he studied his ways and received the divine blessing, leaving home to offer his services. He never fully understood, however, that the empire had fallen long ago.

My little brother's been talking hot shit about how he wants to start a Pathfinder game for minute now. No idea when that's gonna happen, but if it ever does, then my friend Peaches will be ready go with her monkey goblin girl Icki.

She's a native to Otari and works at the Crow's Cask as a barkeep alongside Magiloy, the tavern's proprietor. Magiloy is famous for her unique drink mixtures, so to show off a bit Icki got into Alchemy so that she could more effectively assist in making inventive drink combinations. With any luck, those skills will be applicable going forward. 

concept sketches of my new pathfinder character, pepper moss! 

she’s a naive monkey goblin artist who was hoping to make it big by moving to a new city FULL of criminals.  unfortunately she immediately made a powerful enemy on her first day by pointing out irrefutable evidence that the duke’s son’s entire debut body of work displayed in his gallery opening was plagiarized.  the duke blacklisted her, and now she’s forced to be a thief to survive so she can get her revenge.

(art by mertun on Artstation)

 Where there is water, you will find civilization. Whether it is the sea, a river, a lake, or an abundance of aquifers from which to draw wells, water is the lifeblood of civilization, and not just because most living things need it to survive. Water provides nourishment for crops, a way to wash away waste, and of course, a method of transportation.

With all this in mind, it only makes sense that there would be paladins devoted to protecting water as a way to safeguard civilization. After all, polluted water cannot be drank or used, and water that is infested with monsters or subject to piracy and the like cannot be safely traversed, things that might doom a settlement if they are allowed to persist.

Thus do the champions of the cascade seek to defend water from such threats, such as removing or destroying sources of befoulment, slaying monsters, and bringing pirates and bandits on the water to justice. And this is not merely limited to water sources that directly feed a civilization, but also those that travelers might use to sustain themselves on the long trek between settlements.

As one might expect, they gain many blessings that help them directly defend such bodies of water, as we will see below.

 Due to their role in protecting water, these paladins eschew heavy armor, and train themselves in athleticism both in and out of the water, as well as knowledge of the land.

Impressively, they train themselves to overcome the weight of their armor in the water, allowing them to move and react with greater ease.

Water can be very dangerous to air-breathing allies, so the healing touch of these warriors has the side-effect of blessing the recipient with the ability to walk on water for a brief while, if they wish. Perfect for rescuing allies and innocents that fall overboard or are dragged into the depths by aquatic beasts. As they grow in power, they can grant it with their channeled energy, and even make it last all day.

Their most impressive display of power lets them superimpose an extradimensional body of water on nearby terrain, potentially entrapping foes ill-equipped for deep water, as well as providing a medium for aquatic allies to gain the advantage. What’s more, stronger cascade champions can even conjure a waterspout in the conjured water to lift allies into the air.

Naturally, this archetype works best with either an aquatic race, or with equipment and spells that allow water breathing and grant a swim speed. Freedom of movement effects will also be a must as well, since the archetype provides no protection from the penalties that environment imposes, though these can be mitigated with weapons built or enchanted to function underwater. Generally, your strategy away from water will be similar to other paladins, but near the water, be it natural or conjured with their divine powers, and it becomes very much about controlling the battlefield against terrestrial foes, and turning the tide on aquatic ones that would otherwise have home field advantage.

 The assumption with this archetype has them living near a major body of water like a river, lake, or ocean, but in places where water might be scarce, such as your average desert, they might have to travel far and away from said sources of water, perhaps carrying water supplies to distant communities in need, as well as making sure that it is free and accessible to all. Indeed, More so than polluting fools or saboteurs, those who would capitalize on water to make a profit from others would likely be the greatest enemies of these holy warriors.

  The paladins of The Water Bearer firmly believe in generosity and kindness being the greatest virtues, so they tend to offer strangers gifts of goodwill. However, pirates and raiders receive no such quarter, and tales of scuttled and empty pirate vessels, their crew either slain or dragged aboard the paladin’s vessel to be handed to authorities are common.

 Heroes often come from unlikely places, and few are more unlikely than when a monkey goblin named Viko appeared from the forest demanding the colony’s mill stop dumping sawdust and other byproducts into the river. Nobody laughed after he smashed the water wheel with a single, divinely-empowered blow.