#pathfinder second edition

(art by NestledNaga on DeviantArt)

When most people think of the druid class, many do think of them as opposed to civilization, which is fair, but not accurate, as there are many groups of druid that act as shepherds of civilization in regards to interacting with nature.

Not so with today’s archetype. While not actively enemies of civilization, the followers of the untamed order, or “wild” if you prefer the pre-remaster name reject it’s trappings, at most trading with civilization, but never coming to rely on the benefits of living in one. These are the sort of druids that will choose to sleep under the stars even when the inn is available unless there is a reason to stay.

While some may chide them as barbaric or closed-minded, untamed druids understand better than most that despite poetic descriptions of balance and the cycle of nature, for the most part such things are pretty systems applied to what is otherwise purely anarchy.

And as we’ll soon see, that rejection of grant ideals of order leads these druids down the path of fluidity of form much faster than other druids, making these the druids that master the classic druid ability of “wild shape” or “Untamed Form” as it is known in the post-remaster world.

These druids are quite capable of displaying fierceness, making them quite intimidating.

Additionally, they start with the basics of druidic shapeshifting, starting with basic small forms followed by animal forms.

They also gain magic that allows them to perform partial transformations, not unlike the animal shamans of the previous edition, to gain different shapeshifting benefits without giving up on having a humanoid form entirely.

The order also has some feats that are tied to it specifically. These include Brutal Crush to leave foes reeling from your anamalistic strikes, Creature Comforts to absolve oneself of fear, and Rip and Tear to rend foes.

Additionally, there are many that are less directly associated with the order but still useful. Primarily this includes any feat with “Shape” in the name, adding to the variety of forms their shapeshifting can achieve, from elementals to flying forms to savage war forms and beyond. Other feats include Call of the Wild, Order Explorer, Elemental Summons, Toppling Transformation, Healing Transformation, Explosive Metamorphosis, Bizarre Transformation, Cleansing Transformation, Reactive Transformation, Towering Transformation, Too Much to Swallow, Perfect Form Control, Heart of the Kaiju, and True Shapeshifter, as well as any other feats that might suit your build. Remember that it’s a simple feat for a character to gain access to other order-only feats.

Starting out with the ability to shapeshift into whole or partial animal forms, the untamed druid is certainly set up to be a versatile warrior, able to buff themselves up and shapeshift into battle forms, as well as taking on useful utility forms for scouting and the like as needed. Don’t forget that you’re still a full caster though, so you’ll need to buff up before entering the fray, and more importantly, have access to the versatility of the primal spell list.

It can be easy to assume that characters that reject organized society fall into barbarian stereotypes, but that’s a terribly narrow way to look at it. Sure, some might indeed view so-called “civilized” folk as soft, but others might actually have had history with civilization and chose to reject it nevertheless, and may in fact be very well-educated.

An odd sight has crossed paths with the party, for they encounter an ancient automaton that is also a druid! Syllabary has lived among animals and beasts for quite some time, rarely seeing any other sentient ancestries for years at a time. Though their shapeshifting is impressive, one has to wonder how much they’ve forgotten, both during their time as an automaton, and before, when they were flesh and blood.

When the circle of Glittering Stones was wiped out, their death left a neighboring lampad named Miurial without any company. So when the party encounters her and convinces her they must move on themselves, she asks them to find another group of druids to consider coming to keep her company. Fortunately one group does exist in a reasonable distance in the Depths, namely the Rustling Conclave, a group of shapeshifting warriors that favor insectile forms above all others.

(art by YanoLidge on DeviantArt)

The classic image of the wizard is something that has developed not just from fantasy media, but also from the game itself. Nobody questions these days that a mage should dress in light, voluminous clothing and have basically no swordsmanship training. Why would they? Swordplay distracts from the studies of the arcane and wearing armor restricts the movements required for grandiose somatic gestures that are clearly required for most spellcasting. Not at all a transparent attempt at game balancing by making the mages bad at something and fragile to make up for the fact that they can tell the laws of physics to go stuff it a number of times per day.

But interestingly, while previous editions had whole rules for the ways that armor physically hindered spellcasting, those restrictions are gone now, with only the premise that the wizard really didn’t train in such things being the only reason they have not… But what if they did?

Trained by war colleges that were more concerned with practical application of magic rather than advanced theory, war mages are not just trained to wear armor and wield weapons alongside casting spells (albeit still not as good as a magus or a nonmagical swordsman), but they are also trained in using magic to support armies, providing artillery support as well as magical protection for large groups at once. Of course, they have their own drawbacks and perhaps understand the deeper mysteries of magic less than someone wholly dedicated to the arcane, but ask any soldier and they’ll tell you which they’d rather have at their back when the battle is joined.

So yes, it’s time for another class archetype, specifically for the wizard, for a mage that is not afraid to sometimes get into the thick of it alongside other warriors.

Like other class archetypes, the war mage makes some changes at level 1. Firstly, they receive training in light and medium armor, but do not gain the defensive robes ability. Next, they learn how to shield block as well as how to use martial weapons. They must belong to the school of battle magic (granting them a specialization in blasting and defensive spells), but they do not have an arcane thesis they are working on, nor do they start with a bond (they can get that later, more on that in a bit). They do, however, have the ability to convert any spell slot they have prepared into a spell that improves the accuracy of their next attack, heighted to the power of the sacrificed spell slot.

A plethora of changes, but now we get to the dedication for the archetype. This grants training in warfare lore, as well as training on how to manipulate the forces of area-effect spell to shove around those affected, forcing them into a tactically advantageous position.

Those familiar with field dressing can add phantasmal bandages and medical aid to a friendly spell cast on an ally, helping to tend to their wounds even as they bolster them with magic.

By manipulating the specifics of the shield spell, these mages can instead cause it to project a replica of the shield they currently wield, gaining better defenses on the fly, but also letting them project the shield to protect nearby allies instead.

Sometimes in war one must not only cast normal magic, but more powerful effects by way of rituals as well. Not only are some war mages trained to better ignore distractions while casting so-called siege rituals, but they also learn a basic one as well as others further down the line. (Since “siege” is not an actual descriptor for rituals, assume that any ritual that came from the Battlecry! book and requires the use of the Warfare Lore skill to be such a ritual).

Rather than leave their martial skill as basic weaponry, some of these wizards train with more advanced weapons, and those that learn how to bespell their weapons improve the extra harm done with them.

Part of the effectiveness of being a living artillery piece is the terror a mage can inspire with explosions and other widespread magical attacks. And some war mages learn to leverage that quite effectively, striking terror into the hearts of foes even as they rain down death from the heavens.

With special techniques, many learn how to create an array of magical shields around nearby allies, which can be sacrificed like a normal shield spell to absorb the brunt of an incoming hit.

Those with a defensive bent turn their shields into their very own bonded items, allowing them to be drained to power their magic. What’s more, they can infuse their shield with some spell energy to heighten the potency of the spell they recast with the shield.

Some master melee combat so well that they perfect the critical technique of the weapon, and even unleash greater surges of destructive energy with a bespelled blow.

The most dangerous thing about being a spellcaster in the middle of a battlefield is that there are lots of people with sharp implements that would rather the wizard not cast those spells, and are willing to express that feeling by using those implements. However, war mages that truly master their craft know how to ready and brace themselves before casting to keep their guard up and not provoke such attacks, at least with their lower-level magics.

If you plan on being a very combat-focused wizard, this archetype is a very fun option. Admittedly you are locked into a school that doesn’t give much emphasis on utility casting, and you lose out on your bonded item and your arcane thesis, so it’s not like this is a strict improvement on the class, merely a shift in priority. That being said, you can dip into it for some combat versatility, go in deep to become a somewhat competent pseudo-magus, and otherwise build for blasting and party protection to your hearts content.

I have to imagine that there is something of a rivalry between some academic wizards and war mages. It’s not a wholly inaccurate statement to say that such battle wizards have not grasped the full mysteries of the arcane. Some might even call them dabblers. For their part, of course, war mages understand that they might not be able to quote the esoterica quite so readily, but they do have knowledge in other areas, particularly tactics, camaraderie, and good practical sense.

The casualties of war are numerous, and they are not limited to humanoids. Animals both wild and domestic often end up dead either through direct action or starvation due to the loss of their owner. Such was the case of Mildred, who rose again as an undead terror known as a predatory rabbit. Currently, the eerie thing is in the care of the cruel warmage Votaa, who enjoys tormenting prisoners with it.

When a new threat appears in the middle of a battlefield, the party’s squad and enemy forces alike are forced to retreat underground to escape the new threat. Given the circumstances, the warmage leader of the enemy forces agrees to a truce until a way out is achieved. Will this alliance lead to disaster, or newfound respect.

(art by queenofeagles on DeviantArt)

If you know your mythology, you’ve probably noticed a trend where a legendary super-mighty warrior seems to be able to take on any challenger… until they come across the one thing that is destined to kill them.

Achilles and the arrow that pierced him (regardless of if it was in the heel or not), the spear that struck low Cu Chulainn, Hippolytus getting dragged behind his own chariot, Baldr getting shot with an arrow of mistletoe, the version of Power Girl who was from a universe where Kryptonians were weak to wood… There are a lot of heroes that have been slain or been at risk of being slain by very specific things, as if they were ordained to be immune to all death save for one specific danger, which might even seem innocuous at first glance.

And more often than not, these one weaknesses end up being… underwhelming, painfully so for such legendary undefeated warriors. Take Heracles, whose story as a mortal ends with him being mortally poisoned before he finished himself off with his own funeral pyre and ascended to godhood. Being poisoned seems like such a pathetic end for such a mighty hero, but it’s also brilliant because narratively it proves that Heracles could only be beaten at subterfuge, not in an open contest of might. Conversely, Jason of the Argonauts fame went out like the tool that he was when the rotting prow of the Argo fell on him in his sleep (after he, you know, dumped the powerful witch who loved him in a bid to get royal power.)

It is these warriors we look to for inspiration with today’s subject. These so-called warriors of legend seem to favor simple weapons and light armor, uncannily seeming to brush off wounds and danger… except for one that they must always look out for.

Perhaps their future was ordained by the gods, or by an oracle that saw the path laid out for them, or perhaps they are empowered by fate itself. Either way, the result is a warrior that while not quite mythic on their own, seems to have an aura of legendary might about them, making them seemingly invincible. For most, this strange power is a happy accident or even just a sort of narrative armor, but for others, they or a benefactor may be literally twisting fate in their favor, only to ensure a very specific doom. Regardless, they’ll have plenty of opportunity to make their legend grow… as long as they stay away from wives prone to teasing people with sewing needles.

So this is another class archetype exclusive to the fighter, and so accordingly it gains some benefits at first level before you take the dedication feat. Firstly, their fighter training alone never gives them proficiency in armor heavier than medium, nor do they train with shields. But they do receive training in both acrobatics and athleticism, rather than only one. They also become exceptionally tough. However, their fighter training is almost exclusively in spears and polearms. What’s more, one type of physical damage is anathema to them, dealing extra damage to them as well as inflicting upon them feelings of dread, as if they are already one foot in the grave.

The base dedication for the archetype comes with training in how to use the haft of their signature weapons to parry blows, as well as causing them to fight harder when they feel their doom is near.

Though the specter of their destined end looms over them, these warriors often exhibit a rush of defiant energy when the shadow of that fate rears it’s ugly head, giving them a surge of adrenaline and vital energy.

But these warriors do not just defy their destined end, they also prove quite mighty, and some have a knack for knocking back multiple foes at once with a mighty swing of their weapon.

Like some destined hero pairs, a few warriors of legend develop a strong bond with another, able to communicate wordlessly from a good distance and be aware of each other’s physical condition. However, this bond also means that their partner shares the same dread with them, making both quite vulnerable to death.

Despite this, some endeavor to protect their partners, actively parrying or even intercepting blows meant for their ally selflessly, even if it means their doom.

The curse that affects these warriors is debilitating, but drives the warrior onward, and when suffering it, they can unleash some of that negativity back to empower their attacks, sapping the life of foes with their weapon.

Moving back to the bonded partner thing, many such warriors are known to fight with a renewed, fatalistic fury when their bonded partner lies dying nearby, determined to destroy the perpetrator even if they die in the process.

Knowing that any battle where their weakness shows up might be their last, these warriors can enter a stance that makes them even more vulnerable but promises mutually assured destruction, granting them more opportunities to react to foes, either to strike when they drop their guard or when they themselves are struck by the foe, driving their weapon into that enemy even as they stand transfixed upon the point of the very weapon that endeavors to end their story.

Over time, these fighters become more and more aware of the full details of their prophesized doom, and prove adept at recovering from their doomed state when facing a lesser foe that they know is not the executor of their end, despite how they arm themselves.

Powerful warriors of legend eventually become so mighty that the other physical damage types they are not vulnerable to become significally weaker against them, either deflecting off hardened skin or seemingly pulled by fate into glancing blows.

Some also prove quite able to sweep multiple foes near them off their feet as well, or at least drive them back.

True masters of this path understand the fine line between their power and the curse that serves as it’s price, and so can enter their mutual destruction stance with the same amount of effort it takes to breathe.

This is a fun archetype, granting some neat abilities at the cost of being vulnerable to a single damage type. Playing with this archetype means skirting the edge with your doomed condition to reap the benefits. That being said, I do have some thoughts. I feel like the feat that grants resistance to the other two damage types does not need to be 14th level before you can take it. Maybe 10? Secondly, the archetype also borrows the Unbalancing Sweep feat from barbarian/mauler, which is neat, but entirely superfluous when the Clear the Way feat which is unique to this archetype is better in every way. Sure, it doesn’t let you choose to trip, but it works the same way and lets you shove up to five targets instead of three and even move half you speed afterwards, at less than half the level requirement! Beyond that, this archetype is a fun way to make a powerful and dangerous fighter that turns a weakness into strength.

I can imagine that one can have a lot of complex feelings about being a warrior of legend. Do they fear their destined demise? Do they strive to live their lives to the fullest knowing that any day might be their last? Additionally, what if they’re not actively aware of the curse? In such a case, they might not know to be cautious around foes that use such weaponry beyond a deep unease they feel when they suffer a wound from such a weapon.

Demonstrating great might and equally impressive acumen in the political arena, King Nuberin won his throne defeating demons and dragons. However, though he is a fair ruler, he knows he will die violently, to a heavy crushing blow to the back of the head, no doubt from someone he trusts. So, he endeavors to make his nation as prosperous and stable as can be.

Deeply fascinated by the prophecy surrounding him and his death, there are few warriors of legend quite like Billibramble the gnome, as his lack of discretion on who he chooses to fight makes it feel like he’s obsessed with either fulfilling that prophecy early or defying it by dying to literally anything else but a cutting weapon.

(art by MortemKimer on DeviantArt)

The War of Immortals book included a lot of fun ideas, including some that were clearly meant to be a way for 2e characters to tap into older 1e concepts with the new paradigm of the new system.

This includes things like bloodragers being blood-drinking magical barbarians rather than sorcerer plus barbarian, with the goal to create a more unique concept.

Today’s entry, however, is one of two that seeks to “redeem” a concept that was determined to be kinda iffy in its original lore.

Enter the vindicator! This class archetype for ranger turns the ranger into a hunter of the monsters that hide among mortals to prey upon them, using a mix of divine fury and encyclopedic knowledge of monsters to seek out and fight back against the things in the dark in the name of their deity!

…and if you’re familiar with First Edition Pathfinder, you might be thinking that this sounds an awful lot like the old inquisitor class, and you’d be right! In fact, the art for the archetype even uses the old iconic for the class, Imrijka, albeit swapping out her old red attire for some blues that more fit her role as a hunter of Pharasma’s enemies rather than the blood red meant to call back to real-world inquisitions.

When the time came to transition to Second Edition, the agreement upstairs at Paizo was that the inquisitor, for all it’s badass holy hunter vibes, made some folks whose ancestors had a history of being preyed upon by the real-world inquisitions uncomfortable, and the implication that goodly gods would have servants willing to perform acts of true brutality in their name did not sit well with plenty of people. And so any plans of bringing the class as it was to 2e were scrapped for the time being.

But a holy badass monster hunter is too good a concept to let go of entirely, so the vindicator is an attempt to bring back that concept without the baggage of the inquisitor name, with a heavier emphasis that these warrior specifically hunter monsters first and foremost, with any other activities and duties varying by religions and individual.

Which is why the only time this archetype is referred to as inquisitors in-universe is in relation to evil faiths that approve of oppressive methods of hunting heretics and mortal enemies of the faith.

This does, however, give the career path a reputation that lingers even with the servants of goodly faiths, causing laypersons that have dealt with evil vindicators and their methods to be wary of anyone calling themselves that, regardless of their allegiances.

Still, there are those that walk the path, hoping to protect others from the things in the dark, even if they must walk apart from the rest of civilization for it.

So let’s see what the archetype has to offer!

Naturally, as a class archetype, this one makes modifications before you even get a chance to take the dedication. Firstly, if the favored weapon of the vindicator’s deity is relatively weak, they gain blessings and training to improve the damage it can do.

Secondly, while normal rangers learn magic as primal spells, vindicators instead draw from the divine, and treat any spells they gain from this path as warden spells.

They also must take a special edge exclusive to this archetype. This vindication edge starts out by improving the effectiveness of all spells the vindicator levels against the target of their hunt, as well as granting them a spell that launches a magical dark at a foe, not only dealing damage but marking them so that they struggle to evade the ranger and take additional punishment from their attacks. Finally, they can dismiss it early to cause a final damaging burst on the target.

Additionally, when the vindicator learns how to move tracelessly, they can choose to either do so in the wild or in urban environments, depending on what areas they prefer to hunt in.

When they become masterful hunters, the benefits they gain to improving the effectiveness of their spells improve, making their spells that much harder to avoid or resist.

And after all that, we finally get to talk about the dedication feat for this archetype! With it, a vindicator can seek out a church of their faith in a settlement (as long as one exists) to get information, make requests, and the like, especially when such pertains to their hunted target.

Those dedicated to exploring the mystic arts associated with their deity’s area of influence often develop domain magic, adding it to their arsenal. Later on, they can also learn the advanced spell of their chosen domain or domains.

Many vindicators learn the most about their foes in the midst of combat, able to observe their foe’s reactions as they attack to gain insight into their capabilities.

With keen eyes, many of these rangers can investigate and perform other activities without even slowing their strike, their senses taking and processing information at a brisk pace.

Vindicators are also often intimidating interrogators, able to intimidate others into answering and the perception to see through lies. This is especially true when heretics and supernatural horrors attempt to infiltrate the very faith that they belong to, picking up on failures to behave correctly.

Some become so knowledgeable about their area of expertise (for most vindicators, a form of monster lore) that they can offer a lot of extra information when recalling knowledge on the topic.

Those vindicators that focus on spellcasting enemies of their faith often learn how to channel some of the wrath of their deity into their favored weapon, reflexively striking a foe as they cast and potentially disrupting the magic, especially if it is divine magic and the target is their hunted prey.

Proclaiming judgement against an enemy of the faith, some powerful vindicators can use the divine magic of their beliefs to make a foe especially vulnerable to their strikes and spells for a short while, more so the more drastically they fail to resist the power of this judgement.

The most experienced vindicators who work with allies are able to instruct their fellows in the best way to overwhelm the defenses of their hunted foe in melee combat. What’s more, they can extend any sanctified blessing they have to their allies for a cavalcade of divinely ordained destruction.

Making the vindicator a variant of ranger was honestly the best decision they could have made, in my opinion, since the ranger is already about hunting foes in the first place. Being able to mark a foe, gaining domain spells, and even borrowing monster lore nerd stuff from investigator all make these monster hunters a very iconic option. What’s more, with the depth of changes this archetype offers it definitely deserves to be a proper class archetype instead of merely being an alternate hunter edge and feat chain. Your exact build might vary based on any number of factors, but it’s a fun starting place.

The fact that vindicators are not necessarily hunters of heretics or mortal enemies of the faith anymore means there is a lot of room for more doctrines to make sense with this sort of character option, and makes playing a vindicator of a goodly or benevolent faith much less iffy than it did with the old inquisitor. After all, even a pacifistic god recognizes that there are some threats that cannot be reasoned with, only repelled or put down.

Someone is hunting the clergy of the Sterling Anvil, something that kills with both a dagger and hundreds of biting insects. Eager to put a stop to this spree of killings, Vindicator Gimmald sets out to find the killer. When the culprit is revealed to be a humanoid swarm called a thousand thieves, formed from the soul of a guild thief the faith played a part in condemning, he realizes he will need backup to put the skittering horror down for good.

Blessed with the mixed elemental power of a suli-jann with the shapeshifting of an anandi, Dojendu could have easily found a career in all manner of elemental or primal powers. Instead, however, he chose to become a trapsetter and monster hunter in the name of The Weaver, protecting communities from the predators of the Shadow World with trick and trap and fang alike.

(art by Nikolaos-Thessalos on DeviantArt)

If there is anything iconic about fantasy nobility, it’s probably the flashy outfits and the condescending attitude. If there’s anything else, it’s probably the burly bodyguards they keep to back up their words when the webs of society fall away, either to defend them from assassins an kidnappers or to punish those they view as beneath them. (a minor third is the dichotomy of the self-serving nobles and the actually noble nobles).

And it doesn’t get much burlier than a big norse warrior!

Formed after the assassination of one of the previous grand princes of Taldor, the Ulfen Guard is a group of bodyguards drawn mostly from Ulfen mercenaries on the assumption that their honor would prevent them from being subverted by outside forces or succumb to greed. And so far, the Taldan royalty have been proven right.

This isn’t to say that the Ulfen Guard is entirely made up of ethnically-ulfen humans, though they do for the majority. The rare few that are not carry the title of leidang, rather than the traditional title of huscarl.

What remains true is that these warriors serve loyally for at least a year, if not longer, and are welcome to a final release payment of as much as they can carry from the Taldan treasury… Which sounds like one could become quite rich if one carried a bag of holding or three.

This archetype does actually have a 1e equivalent to a prestige class, which I have not covered on the blog (whoopsie!). The original prestige class leans heavily on synergizing with the barbarian class with lots of defensive abilities to make sure that their ability to defend their charge is not undermined.

So let’s see how things have evolved! The archetype does say at least one parent of the character must be Ulfen, but nothing says they have to be biological parent!

The basic dedication for this archetype comes with some training in the lore of warfare, as well as the ability to designate allies to protect them.

A dead guardian is a failed guardian, and so many of these warriors demonstrate a shocking resilience, able to stay standing in combat much longer, especially when their designated ward is nearby.

Others tap into a rage state in battle similar to a barbarian, bringing that fury down on their foes, even more so if their charge is nearby.

If a foe foolishly drops their guard, many of these guards are skilled enough to punish them with a strike.

Their honor and dedication also helps them guard their minds against mental subversion.

Those that rage can snap into that fury at a moment’s notice when either they or their charge is harmed, , making even surprise attacks a dangerous prospect indeed.

Many are also trained to parry blows coming towards nearby allies (whether they are their charge or not), helping maintain cohesion of the line.

Many also keep an eye on how their charge moves reflexively following them to keep them protected.

Finally, veterans often train to punish foes that attempt to attack their chosen ally, striking at them when they even dare to make the attempt. If they do especially well they can even rob their foe of the strength to follow through and actually hit.

This archetype is very useful for a tanky build that wants to partner up with one specific party member or important NPC, providing ways to protect them when they stay close and stay in the action to keep protecting them. As such, guardian, fighter, barbarian, and other tough melee classes are the best pick here, but if you can make it work with other classes, an elusive swashbuckler, a spell-warded caster, and so on.

Being a member of the Ulfen Guard comes with an obligation baked into the lore, but this archetype also does cover former guard, those that have been trained but never took the oath, and of course any situation of divesting the mechanics from the lore, of course. So don’t feel obligated to use this archetype only for storylines involving protecting a noble.

Marked with silvery runes unlike the runes of the warriors they fight alongside, Duty-9 is just as dedicated to defending their jarl as any other. The fact that they are clearly not quite human does linger awkwardly in the minds of their contemporaries, but if they have answers, they have not shared them.

There is a hidden force worming it’s way into the upper echelons of Duvardian society, and Lord Nybrin and his bodyguard Oglaf plan to root it out. In truth, the culprit is a young conspirator dragon. Relatively inexperienced, but still dangerous, so the duo may need some support.

(art by Kwad-rat on DeviantArt)

Most mortal species tend to congregate together, an instinct of perpetuating their own survival by supporting each other. In intelligent ancestries, this quickly evolves into specialized roles, which leads to communication, systems of exchange, and indeed, societies.

While some remain nomadic, many create permanent settlements, which develop larger and larger until they start to become what we call cities. And that is the subject of today’s entry, the cities domain in 2e!

Seemingly a modern evolution of the community domain from First Edition, the cities domain covers divine providence over the settled civilizations and the edifices that help make them up. From the streets to the buildings to the monuments to the infrastructure keeping it all running and more.

However, this domain clearly covers all aspects of settlements, the good and the bad. In the purview of a benevolent god cities feel like the wondrous focal points of culture and community, offering prosperity and cultural exchange. Wielded by an evil god, however, and cities can feel like oppressive mazes that sap the will of those that live there or even manifest as miserable ruins, bereft of comfort and harboring shadows in the dark.

With that in mind, let’s see what the domain offers the priests that tap into it.

The first spell the domain offers shrouds the user in an aura of nondescriptness, allowing them to blend in with crowds not only in appearance, but also behavior, making it hard to notice them when among the masses. Over time, this improves so that nearby allies benefit as well.

The more advanced spell lets them tap into the living breathing heart of the city, giving them supernatural insight into the goings-on of the city and making it easier for them to ingratiate themselves to the locals to learn things this insight fails to cover.

Being able to hide in a city as well as gain knowledge are incredibly useful abilities to have on tap, particularly for urban adventures, so if that appeals to you, you might consider this domain for your character. Certainly your cleric, oracle, or other character will be an invaluable asset in such environs because of these two focus spells.

Whether they are pillars of the community or predators within it, these clerics truly are at home in the cities, sporting a streetwise attitude that they happily make use of in their daily lives. Conversely, however, they may feel uncomfortable outside the city walls, where those familiar streets are replaced by trackless wilderness.

Diodhe might live a secret life, but the anandi has become a creature of the city, even adopting the Great Architect as their deity for their love of buildings and structures, which they see parallels with their webbing. Lately, however, they’ve been missing their homeland, and would sorely like to visit or at least some memento from.

While stories of cavern elves being sinister demon cultists are greatly exaggerated based on one specific civilization, the effects of that one culture still linger even after they collapsed, including the arachnoid driders. For their part, the elven spider-taurs have been working to build their own cultural identity, and have even adopted a new god in the form of the Weaver of Streets.

(art by LeAndraDawn on DeviantArt)

Today’s a bit unusual in that we’re only taking a look at part of an archetype today, specifically the feats added to the Marshal archetype from Tian Xia Character Guide, colloquially known as the Strategist feats.

I probably won’t make a habit of this, but I thought they were neat enough in what they added to the archetype that I thought it was worth including.

So anyway, the strategist feats take the marshal, which is heavily focused on commanding and inspiring allies, and adds a tactical edge to it, reflecting the mastery of the art of war.

Not that the base marshal isn’t already a strategist in it’s own right, but let’s have a look at what it has to offer!

These options start with a special stance feat for the marshall, as they open their minds and try to enter a mental state where they can absorb and process the information of the surrounding battle quickly. If successful, they can recall knowledge and analyze a foe, potentially picking up on gaps in their defenses that they or their allies can exploit.

Many strategists are willing to accept information from qualified sources, allowing them to ask nearby allies to help them read and identify foes.

Like a true military commander, many know all about the advantages of formations, and can expect allies to jump to when the command comes to form ranks.

Imposing and threatening, marshals that are also Five-Breath Vanguards can choose to step forward, away from the protection of allies as bait or an imposing threat, drawing attention away from their allies.

The Marshal archetype is already about supporting and guiding allies in an organized and military way, but this addition provides a fun new stance and some options for moving and protecting allies as need be, good for both front-line and back-line marshals.

Marshals can be of any sort of background as long as they’ve got leadership skills, but these feats do imply an actual background in the military, so that should probably shape how your character acts.

(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.