Scrounger (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)
(art by MalthusWolf on DeviantArt)
The saying goes that one man’s trash is another’s treasure, and as cliché as it is, it’s not wrong. Repurposed junk may not always function to the same degree as a new product, but it can function well enough.
In the Lost Omens setting, goblins are perhaps the most commonly associated with such mechanical scavengers, and rightfully so. After all, their most well-known weapon inventions are literally bits of sharpened scrap metal from all sorts of sources bound to a sturdy handle. They might all have names like dogslicer and horsechopper, but each is a completely unique item in how it handles.
That isn’t to say that other ancestries don’t get in on the fun, with ratfolk being another common one, but beyond ancestral boundaries, scroungers have one thing in common: They know how things work and how to achieve similar results even with sub-par materials.
Indeed, whether they’re cobbling together a grappling hook from a bent piece of metal or lockpicks from the internals of a clock, these clever tinkerers are rarely left unarmed or without tools for long if their hands are free.
So yeah, one part scrapyard mechanic, one part MacGyver. Members of this archetype range from those that cobble together a useful tool out of whatever is nearby and those with a deep interest in mechanisms. Either way, they have some useful tricks up their sleeve, ones that an adventuring party might find very useful indeed.
Also, an interesting note, the Remastered version of the archetype merges an extra feat into just something that the dedication can do, so an improvement there, I suppose.
The base dedication for this archetype grants the ability to craft items without a workshop or tools, as well as being so familiar with the designs they know that they no longer need a formula book on hand to reference. Additionally, they can spend about 10 minutes crafting and rigging pretty much an physical object they know the formula for from scraps, though they tend to wear out and become useless after a few hours. What’s more, whether they make it for themselves or someone else, they can still give advice about how to handle the item so that its shoddy proxy nature doesn’t interfere with its usability.
Their advanced knowledge of engineering, formally trained or otherwise, helps them understand unfamiliar objects, and even reverse-engineer them if needed.
Those with a more magical understanding can apply such to cobble together temporary magical items as well, within reason, turning a discarded rune and crude woven sigils in the fabric of an old coat to create temporary magical protection, for example. However, they can’t create runed weapons or armor, consumables, or the like.
This knack for disassembly and repurposing also comes in real handy when traps are involved, since they can simply take the trap apart rather than disabling it by other methods.
A simple archetype, but one that can prove quite useful. A rogue, alchemist, or inventor might use it to always have the right item on hand without any cinematic gadgeteer schenanigans, or a martial or magical class might do the same to represent a survivalist or tinkerer aspect of their being.
I can imagine many characters with this archetype to be exceptionally perceptive, aways fascinated by new objects, and eager to take them apart, figure out how they work, as well as what their parts might be repurposed into if need be.
Very little functional magitech remains in the Wastes of Ugan, but those that can master it can carve out their own kingdoms in the ruins of the great civilization. Such is the case with Kolvakk, an orc fleshwarp, has begun to do so, not by wielding some device for his own power, but by teaching others how to fix and use the magitech.
The notorious planar thief known only as Rapscallion is indeed infamous for their many magical heists, but few know how ingenious they are with even mundane objects, something that has time and time again helped them evade capture by cobbling together tools from discarded scraps. They’ve gotten so good at it that three zelekhut inevitables have been dispatched to hunt them down.
While they both keep mostly to their own territory, the goblins and kobolds and ratfolk of Geartown’s slums do occasionally come together, specifically to show off their greatest repurposed scrap. There’s competitions for fastest steam racer, strongest clockwork warrior, and even a quick build competition where participants are expected to build something extraordinary out of whatever barrel of scrap parts the organizers bring.
