#warsworn

On the left, the warsworn is dozens or hundreds of bodies. It pulls you in, magically terrifies anyone near, and simultaneously controls every weapon within 100 feet (30.5 m) of it at once! I'll be real, I got nothing else so sell this one, you either want to screw the unholy slithering creature composed of a still-partially-intact mass grave or you don't.

(art by Hyfigh on DeviantArt)

 Long ago, in the days of yore of this blog, we covered the Saurian Shaman archetype, which was one of a series of druid archetypes centered around specific animals or groups of animals, with the general ability list being a partial transformation, as well as enhanced summoning and wild shaping revolving around the animal in question.

Needless to say, the saurian shaman and dragon shaman, with their focus on the large groups of creatures, were widely considered the only ones that didn’t leave the druid somewhat limited in abilities. There’s only so many ways that a bear shaman can apply templates to summoned bears to make them stronger, after all.

With that in mind, when I discovered that Ultimate Wilderness had given us another dinosaur-themed archetype for druids, I was a bit confused, especially when many of the mechanics between the two were thematically similar, if not mechanically the same.

However, upon further reflection, I feel there is room for both, dinosaur druids do get their wild shape sooner than saurian shamans and still get a buff for taking saurian forms, but they don’t get better dinosaur forms faster. That being said, they do have an expanded summon nature ally list of dinosaurs, even if they can’t enhance them the way the saurian shaman can or cast them as a standard action. So really, it comes down to how much simple template bookkeeping you want to do and remembering your effective level when it comes to wild shape.

In any case, dinosaur druids may hail from primeval lost worlds, or otherwise venerate the ancient megafauna of the past, which may or may not exist today. There is no denying the primal power that they wield, though.

 Drawing upon the primeval memories of the world, dinosaur druids add a large number of dinosaurs and prehistoric reptiles to the creatures they can spontaneously conjure, gaining a large variety of summons for any situation.

Naturally, they must choose a dinosaur companion.

When wild-shaping into dinosaurs, these druids become a bit tougher than normal. However, they also find that wild shaping into anything else, such as a beast that can actually blend into most areas, lasts mere minutes at a time compared to the hours of their saurian forms.

Additionally, they learn the primal tongue of such beasts, becoming able to speak clearly with them whenever they wish.

Judging this archetype on it’s own merit, This archetype gives you a ton of new summons, some of which have unique abilities that might appeal to you in a combat situation, though much like the normal summon nature ally list, it really is mostly about strong combat forms or unique combinations of combat, movement, and gimmicks than it is about adding diversity to your abilities by way of summoning. That being said, the wild shape bonus, while simpler than that provided by the saurian shaman, does let you gain wild shape at level 4 rather than waiting another two whole levels to get the benefits with. For this I would recommend a mixed summoning and wild shape combat build, since you definitely expect to hit hard with your summons, companion, and transformations. Pick your spells based on utility and support first, and your feats should probably be a mix of those that augment summoned creatures and bolster your own combat abilities.

 If you don’t want to replace the saurian shaman with the dinosaur druid (or vice versa), reconciling the existence of both in the lore might be your next question. You might say that saurian shamans revere dinosaurs as a totem, whereas dinosaur druids merely have a special talent for calling upon them, for example, or they might be different applications of the same power, which may lead to rivalries.

  Accompanied by a strange, three-horned beast, a mysterious traveler arrives in town, asking to speak with a leader. Many fear that she is some sort of monster-tamer, but the mayor agrees to the meeting anyway, but he wishes to hire the party as extra protection, just in case.

 Feeling estranged from the company of simians, the orang-pendak druid Ku instead prefers the company of mighty-forest-dwelling dinosaurs, knowing them all by name and treating them well. Even predatory beasts among them go to him for help. If there is anyone who can tell the party more about the great thunder lizards, they have yet to find them.

(art by Onpyr on DeviantArt)

Understanding the past is the key to guiding the future. It may not be their motto, but certainly the Pathfinder Society lives by that credo.

While the Society has many branches and specializations, few embody the desire to learn as much as possible to improve modern society than those belonging to the Scrolls branch, who are scholars of all manner of historical and esoteric knowledge, and seek to learn more.

While bookworms, one cannot simply write them off as pencil-pushers. Many members of the Scrolls are right there with their companions, eager to rediscover all that has been left behind by past civilizations.

Today’s archetype, the scrollmaster, represents someone deep in that philosophy and training, and is one of those archetypes that can be taken freely alongside another “core” archetype, in this case being the Pathfinder Field Agent.

So let’s take a deeper look and see what makes these nerds tick, shall we?

The base dedication of this archetype reflects the training to better retain and recall knowledge, allowing them to recall details about past events with greater detail. Additionally, it synergizes with training that improves the ability to recall monster abilities and capabilities.

Though some may be loath to do so, many scrollmasters see the value in giving scrolls to other party members, putting the power of magic in their hands. When they do so, they tend to give thorough instructions on how to activate the magic, improving their ability to do so… as long as they remember them.

Many monsters have innate magic they can bring to bear, and some of these explorers tend to prioritize learning about those so they can get a leg up on counteracting and avoiding them.

While not as necessarily mystically-focused as their compatriots in the school of Spells, many scrollmasters understand the usefulness of spells, particularly when it comes to finding the truth. As such, they often learn basic divination spells to translate languages, see past invisibility, or restore the senses.

Others learn magic to sense auras and magical energies to pinpoint any hidden magical items around them. Additionally, they have a knack for seeing past magical deceptions that hide an item’s true nature.

With magic that can bend minds and dangers that can end lives being so rife in forgotten corners of the world, it pays to be able to create accurate account of what went on. As such, some scrollmasters learn a special spell that turns the events as the caster experienced them into a magical scroll which can be used to re-experience that moment later.

Deciphering text can be hard, but many understand that it only takes time, which they can manage quite well.

With the broad variety of monsters and strange beasts out there, some scrollmasters learn to diversify their monster lore, making it easier to identify them even if they don’t have greater knowledge of the general field that normally covers monsters of that type.

Many ancient civilizations protected their secrets with traps, so many of these scholars learn magic to help counteract them, dispelling wards, bypassing locks, and providing protection.

The depth of a scrollmaster’s knowledge can be quite surprising, and they always seem to know a lot more than others about any particular topic.

Should these scholars need to lie, they can use their vast knowledge to fool others into believing they know more than they do, or something entirely untrue. However, such a trick requires a baseline assumption that they are authorities in the field, and once that trust is lost, they can’t be so easily fooled again.

Those that master their magic further can cast various useful divinations repeatedly, and even improve their effects.

As knowledgeable as they are, scrollmasters often train to defend their minds, suppressing mental effects that would subvert them.

With so many feats that are useful for gathering information, this archetype is a great fit for anyone wishing to play a knowledge skill monkey. Even if you don’t also take the Pathfinder Field Agent archetype, any class and character with a keen mind can benefit by getting answers that the party would be in the dark about. That being said, if your base class is a caster you can probably skip the feat that grant innate spells unless they’re not on your spell list or you want to focus your actual spells in other areas.

If you ever needed an excuse to read the lore of the setting you’re playing in, be it the Lost Omens setting or otherwise, archetypes like this are the perfect inroad, as having this information can make it easier for the GM as you provide details about the setting as you go. HOWEVER, this is a very gray area, and you should work with your GM to determine what the divide between what you as a player have absorbed like a sponge and what is actually available knowledge to your character.

The Mists of Verbera obscure the contents of the marsh not just from sight, but from actual discovery, guiding travellers away in subtle ways. If one were to find away around the magical defenses, they could make some truly grand discoveries of the past, including the remains of a terrible battle, and a nightmarish undead warsworn of bone and strange metal armor that rules over it.

Scholars have long desired to fully study the Grinding Tower, a mechanical edifice that constantly rotates thanks to concealed gears throughout it’s monolithic structure. A young scholar believes she has predicted when a path deeper inside will open thanks to her mathematical calculations, but she needs an escort to protect her from any mechanical guardians within.

Could you forgive your greatest betrayal? If she is to protect the life she’s built, Zula must confront not only her past, but the two men who destroyed her family—and broke her heart.