#varculak

Nia, my Starfinder character of almost 3 years now. (Varculak Soldier)

(art by vasart191 on DeviantArt)

The secrets of magic are numerous and wondrous, but in an era of constant technological advancement such as the far future of Starfinder, it can seem very much like pure magic is falling somewhat by the wayside in the areas where it cannot be made useful to technology. Heck, the canon reason why no 9th level spellcasting exists in Starfinder 1st edition by default is that nobody is willing to put in the time to focus on the secrets of a magical discipline to get to those rare high level spells when it’s so much more practical to develop other magical abilities and integrate technology at least somewhat into their lives. A message spell is only 25 words, after all, but your average modern SMS program can tap out over 8 times that and send it much further in most cases.

But there are those that seek to preserve and rediscover those waning arcane traditions, and in doing so become known as esotericists, taping into magical secrets that most consider lost or too impractical for regular use.

Some may use the term derisively, suggesting that these mages are putting too much focus on what amounts to archaeological trivia over the practical, and conversely, many esotericists view technology as a diluting factor in the potential of magic, but there is no denying that these mages have incredible power over their own magic and the magic of others.

While most of these mages are mystics, precogs, or witchwarpers, there are also technomancer esotericists. Less eager to dismiss technology, these enthusiasts look upon the magical works of old and see only opportunities for to blend the old and new.

As you might expect, this archetype is only available to casters, and all it’s class features are optional, some able to be gained more than once.

Some gain great skill at identifying spells, items, and creatures, as well as disabling or manipulating magical items.

Others gain an additional reserve of power, albeit one that can only be used to cast a spell that does not interact with technology in any way.

Others still can spend resolve to resist having their spells disrupted.

A few esotericists focus on one or more schools of magic, becoming not just skilled at identifying them, but also at reflexively casting to disrupt such magic as it forms.

Others achieve a flow state letting them reflexively cast a spell of a chosen school in the seconds after disrupting the spell of a foe with a little resolve.

Tapping into the metamagical practices of old, some learn to enhance the area, range, duration, or number of targets of their spells a few times a day with a chosen school.

Others expand this to shaping two schools this way.

Powerful masters learn the art of enhancing the raw damage of a spell to devastating effect.

Additionally, while technomancer esotericists are rare, the archetype includes two magical hacks for them. The first allows them to use magic to temporarily improve a simple or archaic weapon to be on part with modern armaments. The second allows them to mimic the magi of old and grant temporary weapon fusions to a weapon.

The flexibility of the possible class options here is robust, so there are a lot of potential builds to play with here, whether you wanna focus on bolstering or inhibiting a specific school of magic (honestly such a rarity seeing magic schools matter in Starfinder 1e) or you might focus on shaping your favorite school or what have you. You should definitely have one or two schools you like in mind when choosing this archetype though, so keep that in mind for your build.

It's funny to me that one of the powers this archetype can give you lets you spend resolve to resist losing a spell when you’re disrupted by something like an attack of opportunity. Because you would think that would be something in the base game. Things like that make the confession that Starfinder started out as a smokescreen to hide the existence of Pathfinder 2e in development make so much sense. Also, I can’t imagine that this archetype will survive to see a version in SF2E, since every spellcasting class is 0-10 now.

Beyond that, There are several abilities in this archetype that allude to how most esotericists dislike using magic alongside technology, and that’s perfectly fine, but honestly I’d just as happily ignore that as far as lore-mechanics integration goes.

Having just finished defeating a petty tyrant trying to transform and enslave an entire population, the party feels like they’re ready to rest. However, they are approached soon after by a scholar of magic who points out some of the mystical power the villain was tapping into is lost knowledge from an earlier era. Finding out where he got such secrets is shaping up to be an adventure in it’s own right.

Driven to keep going without fully understanding why, the undead varculak known as Drifter only remembers their former skill with the arcane, but not why they know it or what their goals were. The only clue they have is a strange amulet that boasts impressive mystical power sleeping within that they only seem to activate in bursts.

 We’ve seen it before with the arcane assailant, but here and there, the elements of the magical past of Pathfinder are still found in the far future of Starfinder. Today, we’re looking at how the call of the paladin has evolved in the science fantasy universe of the game through the lens of the mystic class. (Keep in mind that this is but one way to build a “holy warrior” type character)

Like all mystic connections, the crusader connection represents a bond, in this case, to the goodly gods and to the concepts of justice, fair law, mercy, and righteousness. A mystic of this connection might refer to themselves as a paladin, or they may eschew such archaic terminology. Regardless, they specialize in protecting others and bringing down divine wrath upon the wicked. Needless to say, this connection only resonates with the goodly.

While the gods have pulled further away from the mortal plane, their agents still seek to gain influence, which means that crusaders still have plenty of true fiends to fight, not just wicked mortals. Regardless, however, they will go wherever they are needed, facing evil of all stripes, for while their powers have changed, their resolve has not.

 The spells associated with this connection include various forms of protection for themselves and allies, turning blows back on foes and protecting others from physical, energized, and deathly attacks. Additionally, they have a spell for inspiring supernatural vigor in allies as well.

More adept at combat than most mystics, crusaders learn how to use advanced melee weapons to great effect.

As defenders of the innocent, these holy warriors make sure that the rare few attacks that make it to their charge do not go unpunished, reflexively attacking those who attack their charge, striking not to deal damage, but to throw their aim off for following attacks.

Like the paladins of old, they can also imbue their weaponry with the power to smite evil, though it works a bit differently in this age. Their weapons brim with holy power, being especially effective against the wicked, but additionally, critical blows against such foes with such a weapon are devastating to their bodily integrity, severing limbs or damaging organs in addition to any other special effect.

Additionally, by spending ten minutes, they can bless their weaponry with a longer-lasting blessing, imbuing the weapon with holy, lawful, or merciful enchantment, or enchanting a throwable weapon to return to their hand.

Fear and disease cause no pause for a paladin, and while not totally immune, the same is largely true for crusaders as well.

By expending resolve, they can even shed a powerful aura to share such protections with others as well.

In dire straits when either they or an ally is at risk of being brought low, these mystics can expend a tremendous amount of resolve to keep themselves or the ally just barely up and conscious.

If you wanna play a paladin-like character that boasts various protection spells and abilities, not to mention strong smiting potential, this connection might be exactly what you’re looking for. I recommend picking up heavy armor, or even power armor proficiency. A melee or mixed melee/ranged build complemented by buff, control, and damage spells can go a long way here.

 With a connection like this, one could easily imagine homebrewing an evil counterpart for an “antipaladin” connection, not to mention the plenty of connections that are already immoral in nature.

That being said, these mystics are likely very involved with various holy or knightly orders in the galaxy, so consider that when coming up with a backstory for your crusader, whether they are hunting the forcers of evil or spreading the light of their deity.

  Few forms of dedication are as profound as those that transend death, and though she remembers little, Remia knew her dedication to the lightbringer after arising as one of the half-dead varculak. Nicknamed “Inevitable” by her kin in arms, the former trox has become a juggernaut on the battlefield, shrugging off blows thanks to protective magic and undead durability alike.

 The volcanic quorlu are a peaceful race by nature, but they have their fair share of warfare. Some who seek peace choose to fight for others, following the path of the Purifier. Using spells of light and fire, they seek to remove wickedness like dross from a furnace.