#shoony

A Pug Adventurer

A Pug Adventurer, a little shoony friend

Friendly reminder that Pathfinder 2e canonically allows you to become Sailor Moon.

(art by Boris Balanov on Artstation)

Heavy armor occupies something of a curious place in rpgs. A lot of assumptions go into it’s statistical ramifications that don’t really have bearing in the real world. Yes, there are stories of jousting or warring knights that get stuck unable to stand after being knocked over, but those stories fail to take into account that said knights are often exhausted at the time from fighting a protracted battle, and that, in fact, normally they can get around just fine with only some level of loss of articulation.

While most games don’t try to push the whole “belly-up turtle” thing, they still tend to lean towards characters being bad at everything except fighting, though the penalties to skills have become less extreme.

One such penalty, however, existed primarily for balance, and that was arcane spell failure, the idea that the fine motor skills needed for gestures were difficult to nearly impossible in armor, but really only exists so that wizards and sorcerers (and pretty much no other spellcasting classes) can’t have the bifecta of being hard to kill while also being able to unleash devastation upon the battlefield with their spells.

However, while this remained mostly true in first edition Pathfinder, the game has always been about breaking down those old barriers of can and can’t, allowing for more creative concepts. The big one for arcane casters back in the day was the arcane armor training feat line, reducing the penalties for wearing armor for a would-be tanky mage.

In Second Edition though, arcane spell failure isn’t a thing, and the only thing stopping a wizard from wearing armor is a few feats. Luckily, however, there is a way around that.

The sentinel represents masters of armor, be they warriors that were trained to be living bulwarks that no foe can get past, let alone injure, or mages of many other classes that desire the protection of durable steel.

Definitely drawing inspiration from the various armor-specializing archetypes and other options in First edition, these defenders might be formally trained, or they might have just set about to master defense because they dislike the idea of being stabbed over and over. Either way, their strategy is to rely on durable equipment to absorb enemy blows so they can work their literal or figurative magic in relative peace.

The base dedication for this archetype grants proficiencies with heavier and heavier types of armor than what the class is used to, and also lets that armor usage grow in mastery as the character does with their normal proficiencies.

Whether it be added padding or just practice, some of these warriors learn to sleep in their armor without being sore the next day.

Naturally, those that delve deep into this archetype train with their armor enough to be considered specialized, with the benefits of doing so.

A sentinel is quite happy to let enemy attacks bounce off them, and with a well-timed application of strength, they can send their foes stumbling away as well with a mighty backhand, elbow, or simply hitting back against the incoming weapon so hard that momentum drags them away.

Some armor acts as a bulwark, allowing wearers to shield their body against harmful blasts with good reflexes. However, for some sentinels, this even extends to effects that are not directly harmful but still need good reflexes to avoid.

It’s worth noting that in the original version of this archetype, the sentinel also borrows two feats from the champion class, though they are not present in the remastered version. I figured it was worth including them though. One allows them to sacrifice the integrity of their armor to absorb an incoming blow, while the other builds on that to let the armor be an ablative sacrifice against explosive attacks.

This archetype is relatively simple, but it does have useful tools for anyone that wants to improve their defenses by wearing armor. Obviously classes that are expected to wear heavy armor get the most out of it, since they’re already quite tanky, but any class build can become more tanky by taking it, defying set roles.

Like I said before, this archetype can be both the hardened trained warrior that would rather sacrifice a little mobility to be untouchable, or it can be someone that has been hit too many times and has had enough of that. Consider what other concepts you can play with there though, like a power suit armor inventor that makes a nearly invincible defense to prove they could, or the swashbuckler that believes they look really, really good in armor, and won’t let a little thing like it’s weight get in the way.

The dread lord is said to have an entire legion of graveknights at his command. While this is an exaggeration, there is some truth to him having many heavily-armored deathless soldiers, including the Hungry Iron Legion, consisting mostly of ghasts bolted into heavy armor.

Bound and determined to serve in the King’s elite guard, Bertram the Shoony applies again and again every year, but is laughed and mocked by most applicants for being too small and weak, but this does not deter him. Every year, he gets a little better, mastering wearing the heavy armor expected of his role.

Want to play a shoony or any of dog folk in dungeons and dragons here you go.