#shisk

(art by NemeiaHellcross on DeviantArt)

Vindictiveness and cruelty are what define a curse and sustain it. Without those emotions, the magic would dry up over time, but the hatred that defines a curse is a self-perpetuating fuel source that causes the magic to linger and cling to a person much like the bitterness that spawns it.

All of which to say that being cursed is by all accounts an awful experience, but not one that can’t be worked around in some way.

This is where so-called “curse maelstroms” come into play: individuals whose curse has become an unpleasant constant companion that they can’t seem to be rid of, but that they can make use of in their own ways.

Now, the thing about this archetype is that it doesn’t have to start with a character having a specific hard-to-remove curse on them, although it can. Indeed, whether it is a familial curse that is more vague since they aren’t the original recipient, a vague and nonspecific “may you be surrounded constantly by misfortune” sort of hex, or something else, some characters can simply be surrounded by supernatural misery. But with their familiarity with the curse, they can sometimes weaponize it against their foes.

Some may see their curse as an old friend, while others simply wish to live a somewhat normal life despite it. Either way, they can make use of it when needed.

The base dedication of this archetype establishes the relationship between the character and their curse, be it a pre-existing one or just implied by this archetype in general. In many ways, the curse tends to act out and is something that the user has to suppress or choose to let out. This might be surges of unluck, or in rushes of jealousy when other misfortune affects the cursed one. Either way, these surges are potent enough to cause others nearby to suffer poor luck as well, and the maelstrom can choose to unleash it further as a surge, unleashing that poor luck on a single foe.

Whether they are simply very familiar with the mechanics of curses or the curses themselves recognize their own, some of the afflicted have a knack for noticing and identifying curses on items or mortals.

With a push, some of the cursed can extend the range of the unluck around them, though doing so causes all sorts of unnerving phenomena that can leave others on the back foot.

Fully used to enduring foul fortune, some of these maelstroms learn to take the burdens of others onto themselves, taking the effects of unlucky magic or true curses unto themselves in the place of another, potentially triggering a reaction from their own curse.

Familiarity with curses comes with a little bit of magic, which some of the afflicted learn, including taking the burden of curses off of others temporarily, cursing foes to die a certain way, or simply predict violent misfortune in the near future.

Some take their anti-cursing further and learn rotes to try and counteract and ward off curses targeting themselves or others.

Rather than simply affect another with lingering unluck, some of the afflicted learn to unleash the malevolence of their surging curse in a life-sapping expression of entropy, withering nearby foes.

Finally, The most skilled of them can not only counteract curses, but turn them back on the caster, inflicting the vindictive punishment back on those that would unleash such suffering on others.

This is a fun idea for an archetype, and can be a fun way to turn misfortune and curse effects to your advantage in a system where such effects are among the more annoying. Additionally, the archetype really can easily be used by any class be they caster or otherwise.

There are plenty of ways to roleplay the relationship between the curse maelstrom and their curse. Does the curse act sometimes like a living thing? Does it sometimes manifest a projection of itself? Can it be reasoned with? Befriended? What happens if the curse is finally lifted? All excellent questions to ask. That being said, if you choose to use this archetype alongside an actual curse with it’s own mechanics, it may do you good to give the player a little bonus depending on how disruptive the curse is to the character, if you think they need it.

Though the hag that crafted the curse is long dead, an echo of her still lives on in the familial curse of a certain family of shisk scholars, who refer to the manifestation of this curse as Bitter Mother. Though they have control of it, the clan does experience wariness even among their peers.

A strong and enduring people, the centaurs of the Wildspell Wastes wear the marks of mutation and transformation of their home with pride as proof of what they endure. However, there is one bit of wild magic that they are loathe to discuss, and that is the wild curses that their shamans accept and transfer to themselves in order to keep the rest of the community safe.

I'll start with introducing my character, Cassandra (pronounced: Kah-SAHN-dah-rah)

She's a Universalist Wizard, of Shisk ancestry. The only one from her class of scholars to pass the elders' trials and be sponsored by her village to go to the Magaambya.

What a silly question. Of course there are Zesk in my tribe. They often forage for the Vorox in return for protection. Many of them can fight for themselves, but are not typically as skilled in combat, especially not alone. Their true strength is in their numbers; the presence of many Zesk is a sign of a strong tribe.

Whether it’s spending hours reading forum posts debating the origin, exact meaning, and even the pronunciation of certain words and names, or listening to a friend go through the fun but arduous task of creating a conlang (constructed language), the internet has taught me that there are many wondrous and exciting things to be had with the study of linguistics. (Heck, one of the biggest names in Fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, is well-known for his own foray into such things).

So when Second Edition introduced an archetype all about linguistics (partially building off the Xenoseeker theme from Starfinder’s themes), I smiled, nodded, and said “yeah, that makes sense.”

But while this archetype is centered around the learning and utilizing of languages, plenty of folks have their own reasons for doing so. Some may indeed be scholars seeking knowledge and putting their skills to use from an anthropological or archaeological perspective, but others may master languages for diplomatic reasons, or even less scrupulous things like blackmail, code creation and breaking, and so on.

Regardless of their reasons these linguists can put their skills to the test wherever language exists.

The dedication for this archetype requires you to have already mastered a few languages, but gives you a plethora of extra ones, and more as you grow in mastery, not to mention a little bit of mastery of social lore to provide context for some of their intricacies.

Some even learn to create ciphers with multiple languages, in addition to brushing up on their own skills at creating and breaking such codes.

So skilled are some that they can memorize and repeat spoken words even if they do not understand them, and create a phonetic transcription to help others repeat them as well, perfect for passwords in other languages or remembering what the ancient evil said after it woke up for later translation.

Normally language-dependent spells carry their magic through the meaning of a spoken phrase, making language barriers a real hassle. However, thinking quickly, some of these scholars learn to quickly translate the message if they can while the magic still rings in the air, causing it to affect foes.

Those of a more clandestine bent can analyze the specific dialect and idioms of someone to better replicate their speech for disguises.

Others use similar analysis to intuit things about where a speaker is from, even if they are trying to hide it.

Finally, those of an anthropological bent learn to listen and intuit key phrases in the speech and communications of others to try and communicate basic concepts between them and another.

Language can be legitimately surprising in it’s utility in RPGs, though a lot of folks may not realize it, assuming that everything and everyone worth talking to knows common. Even if you only take it for the whopping 4 (and eventually 8) languages known, that alone can help you translate encounters with strange beings, the carvings on the walls of the dungeon du jour, and so on. Social characters might be ultimate diplomats, while casters may know lots of otherworldly tongues to bargain with cosmic beings. Heck, even combat-focused characters can get in on it if they are playing some sort of worldly mercenary or something. Meanwhile, the other utility powers offered by the archetype range from simple mechanics and numbers to actions that have seemingly niche but potentially extremely useful utility, such as transcribing words in a language you don’t understand for later. Its also a relatively small archetype, letting you grab what you want and move on with your build as needed.

Whether they’re poets, linguistic scholars, diplomats, conmen, or spirit-summoning mages, it can be fun to explore how their fascination with multiple languages and cultures. If your table uses any conlangs or just makes up their languages, consider sprinkling in various idioms of multilingual folks, such as forgetting the word in one language but not the other, or using certain words they feel better describe something than the language they are currently using, and other such things.

While wary of the outside world as all her people are, the shisk scholar Vettra soon overcame that once she ventured into the outside world, developing a special fascination with languages, especially dead ones. She’s become convinced that her most recent findings will lead to an answer to the Pokon Cipher, which has eluded understanding for centuries.

Due to a botched attempt at espionage, two different sets of contradictory orders have come to the front from the capital, and the generals cannot tell which is which. They send for an expert in forgeries, but need a team to escort them quickly, for every day is precious in the war.

(art by Cloister on DeviantArt)

Another one of the undead archetypes again already? Ah, the joys of ghost and ghoul being so close together in the alphabet (though as far as I know, their etymology is unrelated).

Well, in any case, I suppose we should talk a bit about what a ghoul is before heading into the archetype.

Originally referring to spirits or creatures of the night that haunted graveyards in Arabic folklore, the exact nature of ghouls, or ghuls, varies by telling, ranging from a subtype of jinn to being cursed devils or even jinn burned and transformed in punishment for daring to enter the heavenly spheres after being forbidden from doing so. Regardless, the fact that they feed on corpses remains the same, and it is possible, though dangerous to treat with them if you are polite.

The modern ghoul in popular fiction is a form of walking corpse, usually depicted as a tier higher than a mere zombie, but similar.

The ghouls of D&D/Pathfinder specifically, are intelligent but hunger-wracked things associated with corpse-eating, cannibalism, and disease, the original zombie virus of fantasy gaming what with the infectious nature of ghoul fever (though interestingly, the supernatural illness can pop up spontaneously in those that just practice cannibalism. Perhaps it’s some sort of otherworldly prion disease?). Also notable is their ability to paralyze those they strike, though the elven immunity to this power varies between being treated as a strange quirk of the magic and a hint that the first ghouls might have been elves, leading to a curious fluke in that power.

Additionally, ghouls in Pathfinder draw upon a bit of Lovecraftian lore in that there are also the very powerful Leng Ghouls, which may have been spawned from a nightmare about ghouls, or perhaps a strange fluke of how the disease reacts to the strange energies of that nightmare realm.

In any case, today’s archetype represents an individual having been turned into a ghoul, whether it be before the game started as part of their backstory, or happened during play and the GM allowing them to continue to play using this archetype. (the latter is somewhat unlikely, but not impossible, because the victim needs to succumb to ghoul fever without any access to medical care or healing magic.

It’s also worth noting that this archetype received a small update in the Blood Lords AP, so it has a few more feats than other archetypes.

The dedication for this archetype means the character become a ghoul, gaining the undead benefits and the jaws and claws of that transformation. Additionally, they gain the “satiated” mechanic. A ghoul can devour a corpse to become satiated, but certain feats grant abilities that require them to expend that satiated status as they push themselves, causing them to hunger once again for dead flesh.

Many victims of this ghoulish transformation can find vitality and healing in consuming a corpse. Whether it be that they digest the flesh and incorporate it into their own to close wounds, or perhaps the unnatural negative energy that sustains them rewards feeding their beast with twisted regeneration.

Ghouls are known for sometimes being unnaturally agile, and there is truth to this, some becoming quite agile leapers. They can even expend their satiation to leap even further and higher.

While not true ghoul fever, some are able to empower their strikes with negatively charge enzymes which weaken attempts to heal them for a short while, longer if they expend their satiation.

Naturally, as they grow in power, these undead can tap into greater benefits of undeath, often also becoming swifter as well.

Slinkers and skulkers by nature, many of these undead know how best to move while avoiding attacks when retreating, and often look quite unnerving while doing so.

Similarly, they can reflexively pursue those nearby, lurching after them.

Eventually, most learn to empower their necrotic enzymes to inflict paralysis upon foes, though naturally elves are immune.

While they still cannot infect others, they can cause a minor fever in their victims with a particularly grievous bite (or any bite if they spend their satiation to empower the strike).

Some ghouls that tap into the truly unnatural and monstrous arts of their undead state can transform their tongue into a bone-studded flailing weapon, distending their jaw to do so.

Later on, many learn how to feed more to become more satiated, allowing them to briefly be able to use multiple satiation-related abilities before needing to feed again.

While monks run on walls with sheer agility and maybe a little help from their ki, ghouls that do so are more of the horrifying scrabbling sort, digging their claws into every nook and otherwise defying gravity’s pull for a brief moment.

Becoming fully satiated also regenerates some ghouls more so than just becoming satiated.

Emulating the more bestial variant of ghouls known as ghasts, some begin to exude a foul stench that can overwhelm unprepared mortals.

Some ghouls that belong to the cult of Kabriri, demon lord of ghouls learn to glean secrets form the corpses they consume through a strange symbiosis with supernatural maggots living in their undead flesh.

Some ghouls have a knack for burrowing, granting them surprising speed underground and the ability to construct tunnels and warrens with their bare hands and hardened claws.

Going back to the cult of Kabriri and those supernatural vermin, powerful ghouls in his cult can actually assumed the living seeming form of someone they have devoured, allowing them to infiltrate. However, they gain no memories or knowledge from this process beyond what those otherworldly maggots tell them.

Some of these cultists can use graves as waypoints for a form of teleportation, traveling great distances in an instant while seeming to disappear into holes in the ground.

Foul magic allows some of the more powerful devotees to exhale a cloud of consuming foulness which withers and consumes flesh, allowing the ghoul to potentially inhale the gas afterwards to instantly satiate themselves on the vaporized flesh.

Bursting forth from their body, the maggots of Kabriri can unleash psychic visions of the first ghouls transformation or of being consumed alive, attempting to slay their host’s enemies outright with raw psychic malefice. Only the more powerful ghouls can learn this technique though.

The ghoul archetype ends up being a fun and flavorful undead archetype with a neat mechanic all about storing away power for later use in a thematic way, as well as self-healing, debuffing, and so on, with some cooler, nastier high-level feats added on from the Blood Lords AP, which all technically don’t require you to worship a demon lord to use! This archetype works best with classes that make use of your physical agility and melee combat, but feel free to try it with other classes too.

Being any sort of undead is a struggle. You have dark urges that demand to be fulfilled, and many of them are monstrous in nature. In particular, being a ghoul means craving the flesh of the dead, making them cannibals and grave defilers by nature. Many may struggle against this, but others allow themselves to be consumed. With that in mind, how your character deals with this can be interesting to explore. Additionally, many of the rarer abilities of this archetype are associated with a demon lord. However, worshipping Kabriri is not required to use them. Perhaps they might be a dark, unwanted gift meant to tempt the ghoul into becoming a true monster?

Trapped after wandering through a random rift, the augnagar qlippoth Ashglutton has wandered the catacombs of Luax for untold years. The ghouls that dwell there have taken to worshipping the fiend, seeing it as a reflection of their own appetites. Ashglutton does not reciprocate this devotion, of course, and devours undead just as readily as mortals, loose objects, and the occasional bit of masonry it gnaws off of the scenery.

The reclusive shisk people, as strange as they seem to outsiders, typically subsist on very little, but even they need to eat. During the Age of Ash, a desperate cabal of them turned to dark powers to sate not only their empty bellies, but also their thirst for knowledge, becoming ghouls able to learn how to extract and hoard secrets from the flesh of those they consume.

The Zesk are not “former” Agori. They are Agori of the Sand Tribe. The Great Beings’ experiments left them quadrupedal- to what end, I do not know- but they are still Agori, separate from the Vorox as Agori are separate from my own race. I would suggest sitting down with whoever told you these rumours and explaining these facts to them, as any Bara Magnan worth their helmet could tell you this.

As for conversation… my people are capable of talking, and though they have a poor grasp on some topics, they can offer quite interesting conversations, provided one knows their tongue.

If you were referring to speaking Agori, most of my people know some words and phrases. With the abundance of food and resources of late, I have found the younger ones to be especially receptive to learning more. They often bring me books and such that they find, and ask me to read them. Shisk, a particularly bright Zesk in my tribe, is able to spell her own name as well as the names of some other members of the tribe.

There is a lot more water and plant life, nowadays. It is welcome; we do not have to go far for food or water. For reasons unknown, the area surrounding my cave remains desert-like, but I can see green from our territory. I consider it a boon. Enemies have no cover if they wish to attack us.

Many Vorox and Zesk do not know how to swim. I… am not the best at swimming either, with my armour. But they are learning. As for living near water, we occasionally stay near streams and rivers if we are travelling. Our tribe is unusual, in that we largely stay in the same place compared to the typical roaming of other packs, but… I suppose I have grown used to my cave. And my tribe is happy here.

If ‘Rahi’ are those armoured animals, then the difference I have noticed is that they are rarely worth the trouble of hunting. The metal components make up far too much of the animal, and so the meat is scarce. But, often, they seem less likely to pose a threat.

I have informed Shisk of your appreciation for her craft. She made this as thanks.