Weapon Improviser (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)
(art by ThemeFinland on DeviantArt)
When it comes right down to it, a weapon is an tool used for inflicting harm upon other living things, usually other people. Some are nonlethal, at best maiming the target, but most are designed to kill, ending their life by violently disrupting their bodily functions, traditionally by converting all of the blood inside their body into blood outside their body, though any injury works.
Now, there are plenty of weapons that are, you know, designed to be weapons. Swords, spears, guns, and so on… but in truth, any sufficiently durable, heavy, and/or sharp object can be a weapon at least for a few good swings, and anyone will happily take advantage of such a weapon when all other options have run out.
But there are those that actually specialize in using such improvised weapons, turning nearly anything in their hands into a deadly tool. They might be martial artists focusing on such tools to prove a point (or be an expy for Jackie Chan), or they might be another martial or partially martial character that has been in enough bar fights to get a knack for using anything on hand, or they might even be spellcasters that needed one last desperate option to protect themselves.
Either way, there are some who are not afraid to turn to any tool, no matter how awkward, poorly weighted, or ridiculous when their lives are on the line.
This archetype calls to mind several First-Edition equivalents seen with the monk, fighter, and brawler classes that do the same thing: turning any old improvised object into a weapon, so let’s see how this stacks up!
The base dedication for the archetype lets them use improvised weapons just as effectively as manufactured ones, not just in terms of accuracy, but making sure they have a baseline minimum damage die that at minimum they get, guaranteeing even the feeblest weapons is somewhat useful.
Many learn to push past the stress limits of their chosen weapon, hitting harder at the risk of breaking it, and even allowing them to conduct magical properties from magical handwraps they wield. They can even use this with more durable magical items that won’t break, but doing so means their crits aren’t as effective.
Very few people expect to be beaten with everyday objects, so many of these improvisors take advantage of that by catching a foe off guard.
By using their weapon in a manner close to that of actual weaponry, some learn to get various bonus effects on an especially accurate hit.
These warriors are never far from their next weapon, able to grab the nearest object and strike in one fluid motion.
Finally, those that risk breaking their improvised weapons can choose to deliberately destroy them utterly in one powerful destructive strike, dealing a lot of extra damage in addition to the crit.
This is a fun archetype, and one that lots of characters can dip into if they ever worry about not having a proper weapon on hand or just really wanna trash their foe’s entire home décor while beating them. Obviously martial classes will get the most out of it, but don’t discount other possibilities too.
The archetype gives guides for how the GM should determine the damage die for improvised weapons, as well as any properties they have, but you as the player should be considering how the character would actually use them as a weapon. A broom might make a crude staff, while a melon might be a decent one-time ranged bludgeon, while a gear shaft for some disassembled clockwork mechanism might deal heavy damage when wielded like a mace. The sky’s the limit when you understand the role weight plays and where the best lethal parts of any object are.
Blessed by the might of dragons, the dragonblood anandi known as Ipali has to endure a lot of attention over his heritage, but where he really shines is in his cleverness, finding ways to create improvised tools and weapons using his webbing. A bit of silk and a heavy rock is as good as any flail to him.
Said to have been founded by the hound archon Resolute Thunder, the House of the Grasping Hand is a school of thought that it is not enough for champions or any other guardian of good to specialize only in a few weapons in the pursuit of justice, they must accept all, even the humblest weapon when the time comes and lives are at stake, from the mightiest holy avenger to a humble branch driven broken-end first into a demon’s eye. To them, the most blessed weapon is the one the gods conspired to find it’s way into your hand.
Martial arts tournaments always seem to be where you find the strangest and most experimental combat styles, from attacking only with your feet to a young wizard forgoing their spells to try and bludgeon their foes with their heavy spellbook instead.
