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Fun with Feats 13: Ascetic Style

(art by Jack-Kaiser on DeviantArt)

We’re back with another special on feats in Pathfinder, and we’re starting off with another combat style!

As we’ve established so far, the vast majority of combat styles are for monks and other unarmed combatants, what with their focus on unarmed strikes and the like, with only a few focused on weapons, and that division is important to note because today’s subject bridges that gap.

Another thing to note is that while brawlers have their own way of making the weapons in their arsenal viable, if you try doing that with the so-called “monk weapons”, you are generally assumed to be playing sub-optimally. Your unarmed strikes are simply going to be better than even the highest-damage dice weapon eventually, and you’d only play with such a weapon to take advantage of some combat maneuver feat chain or because you found one with a really nice enchantment on it.

Which is where the ascetic style comes into play. This style is all about making monk weapons viable at later levels, as well as gain some monk-like abilities if you’re not a monk, and improve your monk-ness if you’re multiclassing and said aspect of the class is falling by the wayside.

In this way, the Ascetic Style is less a specific style than it is weapon training with your favorite monk weapons as well as finding ways to fit in training with said monk weapons even while learning another profession. Perhaps your sorcerer figures out how to use their mystic handsigns as a focus to calm their mind, or a rogue that favors a stolen monk weapon trains with it, blending monastic teachings with their on unconventional style and so on.

So yes, it’s much more than a “make monk weapons good” style, making it viable for many to users outside of that class, even if you have no monk levels to begin with, so let’s get into it!

The basics of Ascetic Style allow the user to use their chosen monk weapon (or all monk weapons if they are a monk) with other feats that require training with unarmed combat to use, allowing them to use things like medusa strike and other martial arts maneuvers with these weapons.

By achieving Ascetic Form, they can also apply all class features that focus on unarmed strikes to their weapon. Meanwhile, non-monks and those with training in other classes use their full level when determine how often they can use things like stunning fist or perfect strike.

Finally, those that master Ascetic Strike learn to deal greater harm with their monk weapons, though slightly less powerful than an unarmed monk of the same level of mastery. It also lets non-monks or any practitioners without a still mind learn the Monastic Legacy feat.

Which I will cover here since it proably won’t come up elsewhere in feat specials: Monastic Legacy lets the user use their full level as monk levels for the purposes of unarmed strike, improving the might of their punches  and kicks and subsequently, the power of monk weapons via this style.

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Class Feature Friday: Fencer Style (Pathfinder Second Edition Swashbuckler Style)

(art by Mikezzzzz on DeviantArt)

We’ve seen swashbucklers that fight in a deadly dance, and those that brag and intimidate, but today we’re looking at a style that focuses pretty much entirely on swordplay, or should I say weaponplay, since it doesn’t actually require a sword of any kind.

Now, all swashbucklers are known for their skill with their weapons of choice, but those that follow the fencer style are very no-frills, focusing on mastering their combat techniques above all else. Not to say they don’t banter with their opponents, but I imagine such things would be more direct commentaries on their opponent’s own skill, complementing genuine matches for their prowess and mocking rookie mistakes.

Whether they are masters of the blade or some other weapon and fighting style, these fencers have mastered not just all the practical aspects of the style, but also how to make it look really good, with all the flourishes and graceful follow-ups. Make no mistake though, though impressive and flashy, they are much more than all for show.

So let’s delve into it, shall we?

Fencers are all about creating openings and exploiting them, so they gain their panache from distracting foes and feinting them in combat, the latter of which is just good synergy because that’s what most swashbucklers are going to be doing in the first place.

Their exemplary finisher taps into this as well, with their various finisher moves opening up more gaps in a foe’s defenses to be subsequently exploited.

Of course, plenty of feats prove thematically useful to these swashbucklers, such as Disarming Flair, Elegant Buckler, Extravagant Parry, Goading Feint, Brandishing Draw, Finishing Follow-Through, Even the Odds, Impaling Finisher, Combination Finisher, Precise Finisher, Bleeding Finisher, Dual Finisher, Stunning Finisher, Reflexive Riposte, Stumbling Finisher, Targeting Finisher, Impossible Riposte, Perfect Finisher, Parry and Riposte, Illimitable Finisher, Panache Paragon, and any others that suit your build.

While the general combat loop of all swashbucklers is trying to cycle your panache and finishers over and over again, fencers in particular also blend in finding ways to lower the enemy’s guard each time as well, since they can gain panache by feinting and also lower a foe’s guard when they perform finishers opening up foes to plenty of extra easy hits each round. As such, finishers that also add their own debilitating effects are quite rewarding here. Despite this focus on improving on the fundamentals, don’t forget you can do things other than just stab good with a rapier.

Given their focus on weaponplay, it’s an easy assumption to make that the character was formally trained, likely by a mentor figure. However, there is just as much opportunity to be self-taught, which may surprise your peers when you start busting out moves that they’ve been learning plus a few tricks you came up with on your own.

The humble quarterstaff is often thought of as a peasant’s weapon, but it can be just as effective as any blade, as the skilled staff-fighter Borrin Farstrider proves time and time again in various fighting competitions. However, humiliating nobles, while fun, has earned the skilled halfling many enemies, many of which may come to collect on the perceived debt to their pride very soon.

The necromancers of the nation of Kalbran like to test out their creations in the arena against living foes, from novice necromancers sending in zombified snakes or other animals to masters entering horrors which there are no words for. The current champion, Tobra the Blade, wants out. Rare is the undead that has retains the skill to actually give her something interesting to match against.

They say that the Lake of Fears possesses unusual properties that can summon forth the darkest parts of one’s soul so that one might literally face them. Most who seek it for that purpose are mages and psychics seeking to master their own minds. However, today a warrior wielding a rope dart has arrived, saying nothing to the lake’s caretakers. What emerges from the lake to confront them is a shadowed doppelganger of themselves. They take their stances… and the battle is joined.

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Starsinger (Starfinder Archetype)

(art by Maxa-art on DeviantArt)

The phrase “The music of the spheres” can be traced back to the ancient mathematician Pythagoras, thought it was later developed on by Plato and Johannes Kepler, and refers to a theoretical “music” performed by the movement of all heavenly bodies. Pythagoras theorized that every celestial body produced a sort of metaphysical hum which could affect things on Earth.

Whether the idea had any merit as described by these great minds, there is no denying that the goddess Desna in the Pathfinder/Starfinder embodies the interlinked connections between all objects in the universe, which in turn inspires her title, the Song of Spheres.

It only makes sense then that those especially devoted to her tenants would find a mystical path to devote themselves to blending the concepts of music and the stars, which is where we get today’s subject, the Starsinger.

One part old-school bard, one part stellar being, one part magical child, Starsingers can take all sorts of forms. They might be pop idols crooning out the wonders of the cosmos to millions, or they might be folk singers inspiring a love of tradition, wanderlust, and the limitless potential of the heavens to their own people, and anything in between. What remains true is that they inspire with their words, and blend combat arts into their performance on their way to ascendancy.

While they must have at least some skill with music beforehand, the first ability of these performers is their inspiring song. Like the bards of old, this bolsters the accuracy and lethality of allied strikes.

Channeling their musical, mystical power into a weapon, starsingers can use such a weapon as the focus for minor and later moderate magics that they can cast. Most often these are starknives since they also train with such weaponry, but that need not be the case.

With a short ritual, they eventually learn to call upon Desna’s aid to transform into their true selves, not only changing form cosmetically, but gaining useful abilities as they move faster, become resistant to a chosen energy, and empower their sacred weapon.

Eventually their song brings out gifts of supernatural movement, allowing them to burrow, swim, or even fly slowly while performing, though they can get a speed boost with a bit of resolve.

Finally, these beings truly transcend, becoming fey able to survive in the void, teleport between stars and gas giants in the same system, as well as bolstering the magic of their sacred weapon to cast stronger magic.

This archetype has a lot of fun things, a buffing performance, extra spells with a weapon that also gets buffs of it’s own, and a zenith ability that makes one in theory able to travel the stars without a ship, though it’s vague enough you should talk with your GM about what that means. Naturally, the charisma-based envoy is a good fit for this archetype, but caster classes eager to get more magic and ways to buff can definitely benefit (especially the thematically appropriate melophile mystic). Meanwhile, other skilled and combat classes can also benefit as they tap into deadly battle dances or utilize their other skills alongside the archetype. Of particular note too is the evolutionist, which already has themes of transcendancy, making the eldritch or divine niches good choices.

I like to imagine members of this archetype are full with a zest for life. After all, the universe is full of wonders, and the joy of that knowledge surely finds its way into their songs and their lives. Which isn’t to say they can’t have struggles, of course.

The long sparkling beaches of Pogrinus 4 stretch for miles, patrolled by collector crabs looking for starmetals to add to their colloid shells. Such a stunning vista would be the perfect place to host Mira Sunset’s latest concert, but her agency is having trouble convincing the local xenodruids to allow it.

The stars hold special significance and wonder for most species, but as a blind vlaka, Dolin has never seen them. However, he can feel their music in his soul, guiding his own songs and magic that blend elements of traditional vlaka folk with sounds inspired by deep space scans.

Many deities of the stars are also deities of dreams, lending many worshippers an expertise on the realm of dreams and mindscapes. For this reason, the party has decided to seek the help of performer and psychologist Hulan Vespere in understanding the seemingly freestanding permanent mindscape they have discovered. The answers they will find, however, only lead to more questions.

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Star Knight (Starfinder Archetype)

(art by ArtxBite on DeviantArt)

Science fiction and fantasy have a long history of fuzzy-to-nonexistent borders, and that sometimes means you get knights in space, which is absolutely awesome.

Now, anyone can wear heavy armor and wield a mighty melee weapon at least some of the time, but being a knight implies some sort of higher calling or oath that these warriors adhere to, and such is the case with the Star Knight archetype.

In fact, the core setting goes as far as to give us not just the Knights of Golarion, but also various Hellknight orders, both seeking to bring order and law, but in different ways.

And so this archetype was among the first Starfinder archetypes that offered different options depending on what order you belonged to (as well as generic options for if you belong to a different order beyond what has officially been written down.)

As a result, these warriors boast a few common abilities but also unique ones, so lets have a look, shall we?

True to the iconic armor they wear, these warriors learn to work with better and better armor, as well as how to capitalize on it to sometimes negate potentially critical blows.

With a charge and mighty blow, these knights can strike fear into the hearts of their foes.

Those belonging to some other order learn how to keep their weapons safe in a fight when not going all-out.

Such generic knights also demonstrate tremendous willpower and discipline, making it hard to undermine them mentally.

Those last two are generic options, but there are also options available to the specific orders. These include The Order of the Chain teaching basic magic to inhibit enemy movement; The Order of the Furnace able to set their weapons alight; the Order of the Nail issuing magical commands; the Order of the Eclipses extinguishing light in an area; The Knights of Golarion infusing their weapons with holy might; The Order of the Pike giving melee weapons reach and fusing them with longarms; The Order of the Gate summoning loyal minions; and finally the Order of the Scourge compelling the truth.

And that’s just the level 6 ability options. At level 12, all Hellknight Orders can send foes reeling with an empowered condemnation. Meanwhile, Knights of Golarion can ward an ally, absorbing some of the damage they take for them.

Obviously combat classes are the logical pick here, but any class can benefit from this archetype, getting some better defenses out of it and lending their skills to their order. Consider how Hellknights have their own mages in the form of Signifers, as well as how skilled classes can provide all sorts of tactical tricks.

How these individual knights behave will of course vary by their order. Knights of Golarion definitely will place a lot of value on honor and chivalry and whatnot, while the various Hellknight orders will focus primarily on the rule of law as well as their specific specialization. An order of the pike start knight might focus on fighting monstrous aliens that threaten settlements on colony worlds, or even straight up fight kaiju in mechs and whatnot.

The stronghold of the Order of the Stars is said to be impenetrable. However, clearly this is not the case when someone manages to smuggle in a mature quicksilver drifter, an alien life form with poisonous and metal ruining spittle, into the compound as a distraction.

Knighthood seems like a strange fit for a timid and scientifically-minded people like the osharu, but Ser Tobrinog is as steadfast as any other knight in the Order, though they speak little of why they have chosen this path. Regardless, his compatriots are not complaining, as his serums and boosters prove a major boon in keeping his allies in the fight.

War ravages the world of Kokals, and the mercenary Knights of the Iron Hand have arrived to “offer” their help. However, theirs is a vicious and brutal method of restoring peace, and even if the empire wins, few can expect things to go back to normal as the Knights help restructure things from the ground up, whether the local government agrees or not.

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Starfinder Forerunner (Starfinder Archetype)

(art by palmrenders on DeviantArt)

One of the many areas of science fiction that Starfinder likes to cover is exploration. Whether you’re travelling on a science vessel boldly going where no sapient has gone before, or part of a colonist away team eagerly exploring a new planet.

However, being an explorer means being out on your own with little to no backup, thereby necessitating the act of learning as much as possible about a wide variety of skills in order to be self-sufficient and reliable in the field.

And that’s where today’s subject comes in. As explorers and xenoanthropologists and xenoarchaeologists, the Starfinder Society has a vested interest in many of it’s members being self-sufficient to the point they reliably survive to report their findings, whether they’re party of official society business or tagging along with another enterprise representing their interests and lending their skills.

Either way, forerunners blend scientific, survivalist, and social skills into their profession in their quest to explore strange new worlds and encounter fascinating new cultures and species.

Starting off, these individuals learn important basics on survival and etiquette and practice them to make failure an unusual result. Furthermore, they also learn to adapt to local weather conditions and food availability to survive while travelling at full speed.

They also prepare for every eventuality, reacting quickly to combat, analyzing their foes to better understand their strengths and weaknesses, and even avoiding common pitfalls when interpreting unfamiliar text, so as not to misconstrue it.

Finally, they also learn important skills for keeping people and equipment going in the field, learning field dressing and jury-rigging with that intention.

Whether or not you’re actually a society member, this archetype has lots of important abilities that can be extremely useful if the campaign takes a lot of time in unexplored wilderness and terrain. Obviously it pairs well with skill-focused classes like envoy, biohacker, and operative, but any class can benefit, everything from martial classes with a decidedly ranger-like theme to mages eager to learn from cultures living and ancient.

There are as many reasons for someone to be a scouting explorer, be it a love of discovery to the promise of great wealth and fame, to the desire to further the interests of science or nation. Of course, which such motivations, their intentions can also vary, be they genuine explorers or more akin to the forward scouts of a conquering army, so there’s a lot of possibilities, for good or ill.

The exploratory team of the new planet has discovered a disturbing revelation: that a war between automated factories from two long-dead civilizations continues on despite the wilderness having reclaimed most of the world. Shutting down the factories or getting the intelligences running them to see reason won’t be easy, but it is necessary to protect the ecosystem in the surrounding area.

Doctor Bligop has been studying treatise on xenobiology for years, but this expedition represents his first time getting the chance to do proper field world. As such, he would appreciate any volunteers that offer expertise in exploration of new worlds.

Exploring an oceanic world is not easy. Luckily the party has an expert in that area on their team this time, in the form of a woioko ranger named Slilga. What the aquatic operative lacks, however, is much experience interacting with other species, making him a… struggle to be around sometimes.

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Starfinder Data Jockey (Starfinder Archetype)

(art by Steamhat on DeviantArt)

We’ve been talking about Starfinder the game system for a while now, but it seems strange to only barely have talked about the Starfinder Society within it’s core setting.

As you might have guessed, the Starfinder Society are the inheritors of the same cultural niche as the Pathfinder Society of yore. While it may be impossible to prove that there was any direct connection between the two thanks to The Gap, it’s at least completely clear that the Starfinders were inspired by the Pathfinders of old.

And like the Pathfinders, this far future agency trains its agents in various fields to better help with their xenoarchaeology efforts, better understanding the past of thousands of worlds both out of a genuine interest in the history of cosmic civilization, and also perhaps to achieve an understanding of the truth of The Gap through either some grand revelation or perhaps some pattern that can be found in the garbled records of that time.

Which brings us to today’s subject. As the name suggests, Starfinder Data Jockeys are the computer data analysts, the hackers, and scholars of the Society. If it involves hacking, sorting through data sets, or swift analysis, this is where you’ll find data jockeys.

Of course, the archetype is just as useful for other computer nerd specialist characters as well, no need to actually be part of the Society.

Computers are at their core about the storage and retrieval of information, and so as long as they have access to a local infosphere or data packet on a subject, these technicians can use their skill with computers to retrieve the relevant data just as easily as having the relevant knowledge. Additionally, they also build data sets and algorithms on their own to let them retrieve data on a topic and extrapolate the unfamiliar while in the field. Normally these are not as effective as real knowledge in the field in question, but with a bit of resolve they can be overclocked.

Furthermore, their own skill with hacking is so great that they almost never fail when doing so.

Putting their analytic minds and computer scanners to work in combat, these jockeys can pinpoint weaknesses in a foe’s defenses, improving the accuracy of their attacks and even ignoring part of their defenses to deal more damage. They can even relay these weak spots to allies too.

Finally, they fully master their skill at data retrieval, no longer needing resolve to function at maximum capacity.

Interested in playing a tech-savvy hacker character, either with a different skillset or improving the computer skills of an already tech-focused class? This archetype provides a fun option. Obviously envoy, mechanic, operative, and technomancer are obvious options, but I can see combat classes with this training to round out their skill set and represent someone trained to hack in the field. Other mages might also be inclined to put their keen minds to the task as well, either as a skill set they had before mastering magic or after.

Hacking has associations both from snarky anarchists fighting the power and cracking the cybersecurity of powerful groups, as well as serious professional hackers running counter-hacking initiatives for governments and corporations alike as well. Feel free to play with those concepts with your own character.

It’s a fairly normal security detail for a VIP when suddenly the patrol class security robots all go haywire at once, firing on random targets. This is clearly meant to cause havoc and distract the living security, but finding the hacker that pulled this off take secondary priority to ensuring the safety of the VIP.

Far from the stereotype of the mighty warlike brute, Bilkor prefers technology, even going as far as to take the path towards transcending his fleshy half-orc body and become a mechanical evolutionist. His real passion, however, is computer sciences, and there are few hackers and data runners that can do his job better on the station.

Reports suggest that the data-plinth, a sort of monolith-like supercomputer server used by a long-dead civilization, has a true treasure trove of information for those daring to find it. However, the party is only after one thing, but in order to sift through an entire civilization’s worth of data, they’ll need an expert in integrating with the structure and sorting through it all quickly.

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I am bigender and a game designer. I've been published in Pathfinder 1e, 2e, and Starfinder 2e, (and self-published for SF 1e!)and my blog and patreon are dedicated to the hobby

I don't think I can overstate the depth of impact trans women have had on indie ttrpgs.

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My Characters 8: Aliana

And we’re ending off this week with an interesting one, because this actually started as a 5e character in a campaign that fell through, but I adapted her into a Pathfinder character in a game that started 2 weeks ago!

Living a mostly quiet life, though not without it’s hardships in a small coastal fishing village with her father, Aliana always believed something was missing. It didn’t help that she was the one tiefling in town, spawning all sorts of nasty rumors about her and her father.

However, a week after her father passed away, she received a unusual visitor in the form of a turtle familiar, and speaking through the familiar was none other than the voice of her mother, her real mother.

She revealed that Aliana was in fact the daughter of a powerful succubus, one bordering on nascent demon lord. She had left Aliana with her father as a way to protect her from her mother’s rivals, but now she would offer Aliana power to make up for lost time. Certainly with no ulterior motives.

Aliana agreed to accept, on the condition that first her mother help her achieve a form that better suited her gender, which she did, teaching her how to make an elixir to permanently transform her body.

Deep down, Aliana knows that her mother has plans for her, but she hopes that she can kindle new emotions in her and perhaps turn her away from that path.

Aliana herself is a shy woman, but her nerves hide a passionate woman eager to experience the world.

Aliana is a tall tiefling with prominent horns that add to her already impressive height. She does, however, sport lovely feminine curves that she is quite proud of, and a thick, muscular, spade-tipped tail.

She typically wears darker colors, her favorite being a dark purple dress and black cloak. In her original 5e form she also sported a silver, mirror-polished brooch talisman, but in her Pathfinder form she instead has a woven basket serving as her familiar pouch.

Originally Aliana was a fiend pact warlock with the talisman option, but in her most recent incarnation she is a demon-sworn witch with a variant of the devil unique patron both of which altering her trickery patron. Much less directly offensive than a warlock, but capable of inflicting all sorts of misfortune and pain on foes nevertheless, but also healing and supporting her allies as well.

And that will do for this week. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Be sure to check in next time for more character options and other articles!

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My Characters 8: Victoria Ashengard

I don’t often do evil characters, but it is a treat to do so every now and again.

This character was another one from a campaign that fell through, but I’d love to revisit her some day.

The daughter of a mighty vampire lord who in turn served the dark lord that threatened the land, Victoria Ashengard grew up surrounded by creatures of the night, learning from them and befriending many. It was certainly an atypical life, but a happy one, for Victoria anyway.

That all changed, however, when the heroes came in their quest to defeat the great evil of this world, and along the way, her father was slain in the process.

Victoria, a young girl at the time, was spared, however, and sent to be raised among the goodly people of the world in hopes that her innocence would make living among society easier.

But she never forgot that these so-called heroes murdered her father and slaughtered the creatures she called friends, and so she studied the blade and magic, preparing herself for when she came of age.

Now, she seeks out monsters and the rejected, forming a party of her own in hopes of becoming a new dark lord, one that would avenge herself on the heroes and their proteges. They would be made to suffer, she would see to that.

Victoria is a slim and buxom woman with pale skin and white hair. She has red eyes fangs as a reflection of her heritage, and has the athletic build of a swordfighter.

She tends to favor a richly embellished black and red noble’s coat with gold trim and breeches over her armor, and tends to go into combat with an elegant longsword.

Victoria is a dhampir magus favoring a mix of close-quarter and ranged combat, especially with necromantic and evocation spells, though she’d also have her fair share of buffs as well. If at all possible I’d like to choose options that let her delve into her vampiric heritage, and maybe some of my homebrew Castlevania spells as well.

That will do for today, but we’ve got one entry left this week. Look forward to it!

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My Characters 8: Mayahi

This next one is from an ill-fated attempt at a 2e campaign that feel through, though I still enjoyed the character a lot.

Mayahi… doesn’t remember much. She only remembers awakening to full awareness while wandering into a decrepit library in an empty old house. Though she only knew her own name, she had a knack for understanding the magical texts scattered about, enough to eventually learn basic training as a wizard, as well as understand that the apparatuses in the basement were used to create her from dubious but unnamed stock.

What she does know is that what lies beneath her fabric skin is both more and less than alive, but she won’t let that get her down, as her wonder at the world around her and desire to make new friends drives her onward. The mystery of her own origins can wait for another day.

And so she left the house behind, wandering the world in search of adventure, doing her best to make up for her strange appearance with her kindness.

Mayahi certainly cuts a strange profile, resembling a seven-foot tall stuffed animal patched together with all manner of scrap cloth, though the specific animal she resembles is up to interpretation. Her body is broad and soft, with long thick arms with thick fingers. What lies under the fabric, however, is a fleshy mystery, something that others get glimpse of when she is injured, but which she is quick to cover again with her trusty sewing kit.

She tends to favor dresses tailored to her large frame, as well as wide-brimmed hats, be they sun hats or more traditional conical hats like one would expect of a mage.

Mayahi is a created fleshwarp and abjurer wizard, (or school of civic wizardry or envy thassilonian rune magic if you insist on exclusively using remastered schools), with her focus being primarily on warding and protecting others.

That will do for today, but it was nice to revisit Mayahi.

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My Characters 8: Chikino

And now it’s time to focus on a character I came up with for what is probably the most fun samurai archetypes in my opinion: The Warrior Poet.

This archetype drops many of the classic trappings of samurai, such as armor, mounted combat, and the like in favor of the vibes of the “noble” samurai, that focused on art and beauty and combat as an art form.

So without further ado, let’s talk about Chikino.

Born out of wedlock to an elven mother and human father, the happy couple were quite content to retire to land-based living soon after for a time. Eventually, however, Chikino’s father returned to the sea, and perished.

Blaming the sea for taking away her father, Chikino began training as a sailor in a bid to meet the sea dragon that ruled over the waters of the region and demand recompense, which she actually did, to the shock of all.

Sensing her pain, the sea dragon took her under his wing for a time and taught Chikino about the way that art reflects the emotions of the artist and the observer alike, and of the worship of the goddess of art (likely Shelyn or a similar goddess).

Her heart assuaged, Chikino returned home and met with her mother briefly before seeking out a samurai to train under, learning to fight alongside other art forms so that she could devote herself to artistic expression, though she has often felt guilty about how little she sees of her mother now.

When Chikino joins a campaign, it will likely be at the start of her attempts to become a well-known artist and warrior.

Chikino is a dark-haired athletic woman of elven and human descent, her appearance beautiful but muscular from her time as a sailor.

Typically, she dresses in appropriate wear for the season and her current goals, with any armor that she chooses to wear (assuming she doesn’t have high enough charisma to negate the need for it with her warrior poet abilities) being lighter affairs under said clothing. When appropriate she prefers beautiful kimonos, and even her more practical wear is well-made and aesthetically pleasing.

As stated above, Chikino is a warrior poet samurai, with the order of the songbird option. Her build will be very much all about feinting, mobile attacking with spring attack, and vital strike turning singular hits into deadly maneuvers.

That will do for today, but look forward to more as the week progresses!

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My Characters 8: Messenae

And it’s time for another look at my own character ideas, for the purposes of inspiring your own designs!

Tonight we’ll start with Messenae, the elemental-inspired elf evolutionist!

It’s a long-held stereotype that even in the far future, dwarves are miners and elves live in forest… But we all know that’s not entirely true. Elves mine for metals, albeit with different methods, and dwarves have their own appreciation for nature.

It is nice to see those stereotypes being defied and ignored in real time though.

This is where Messenae comes in. Absolutely fascinated with the beauty of geological formations, both in rock strata and in gemstones from a young age, the elf Messenae studied for years in elven universities to understand every secret of the rock. However, the galaxy is full of wondrous earthen material to study, including the relationship that each alien species has with the rock.

So, she left home, eager to explore and study geology on whatever rock she finds herself on. She has even worked with dwarven mining operations, learning from the best.

However, studying the perfection of stone is not enough. Deep down, she wants to become as the stone, and has been researching magic to subtly and slowly transform herself into an elemental being.

Messenae is a slender elf woman with silvery hair. However, her steady evolution has caused her to slowly become more rock-like over time. Her adaptive strike takes the form of a heavy stone fist, and she grows seafoam green crystals out of her skin, which grow to truly impressive sizes as her mutation points accumulate, her skin hardening to ore-streaked stone in the meanwhile.

Outside of combat and professional settings, Messenae typically wears outfits that show a lot of skin to show off the various transformations her body has undergone. When adventuring, however, she tends to go with light armors that give her some flexibility.

Naturally, Messenae is an evolutionist with the scholar theme and the eldritch niche flavored as a transformation into an earth elemental. Meanwhile, she would have the augmentation focus, giving her the opportunity to fill her body with all manner of new abilities. Her adaptive strike is a melee bludgeoning attack, and she would favor adaptations and feats that show off her transformation, such as dazzling outburst and versatile strike, and those that improve her defenses, such as resistant form and armored form. I imagine her as an agile and resilient close-combat fighter, with a myriad of useful tools from her implants.

I do love this character design a lot, and she was fun to come up with. (inspired from a play session of Deep Rock Galactic, fun fact.) But that will do for today. Tune in tomorrow for more character builds!

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Class Feature Friday: Beast Eidolon (Pathfinder Second Edition Summoner Eidolon)

(art by Amandine Flahaut on Artstation)

And we’re ending off the week with another 2E summoner eidolon, and this one is a little less outsider-y, though definitely still a spirit of sorts.

The natural world has many guardians watching over it, be they physical or spiritual. While plenty of magical beasts fulfill this role, there are also many bodiless spirits that can sometimes manifest form to enact their will directly, perhaps with the help of a summoner.

Such bestial eidolons can take many forms, often merging the traits of many local animals into their form (antlers on pretty much anything that doesn’t normally have antlers are an old favorite, but not the only option) However, no matter the specific form, they draw upon some unified abilities.

There is also the question why these spirits would bind with a mortal in the first place. Some might be powerful, but their minds too bestial to be effective long-term planners. Others might seek out a mortal to help enact a long-term goal. The options are there.

Regardless, these eidolons offer the physical might of the wilds to those who need them, so let’s see what they can offer.

Naturally, summoners with these eidolons draw upon the primal tradition for their magic.

They also tend to be either take a mighty or agile form as well, and have a wide variety of natural attack options based on their form.

Whether it is a ramming charge or deadly pounce, they can be quite accurate when making a beeline towards their foes.

Inspired by the threat calls of many animals, they can also strike fear into the hearts of many foes at once.

Calling upon the vigor of an animal fighting for it’s life, these eidolons can unleash a flurry of attacks upon every foe within reach.

Looking for a relatively simple eidolon that hits hard and often, this pick might be right for you. Often they open up with an intimidating cry to debuff foes and charge right into combat, so the biggest bit of nuance for your build is whether you want to hang back to support them, or wade in and join them in the fray.

Coming up with the exact form for your eidolon can be quite fun in its own right, thinking of what animals to emulate or incorporate into its form. However, also consider the exact nature of the spirit that you are embodying with your bond. Are they simply a local spirit? A guardian of nature? THE guardian of nature in your region? (or at least an aspect of them?)

Brikken Allfour never expected to be bound to the spirit known as Deepshell (If he had his way, he would have preferred to bond with something that can set fires), but this is the situation that the goblin suli finds himself in. He is pleased to find that the isopod-like spirit matches him in appetite if nothing else.

For weeks, the hobgoblin forces seeking to move through Bandrock Forest have been harassed by someone astride a plantlike cervine creature, slaying their scouts and sowing confusion in the ranks. However, now the hobgoblins are preparing to burn the whole forest down in retaliation, something a bit more than the mysterious summoner and their partner can handle.

Rising from the oceans, a great evil is set to conquer the world. Racing away on her ocean spirit mount, a brave merfolk princess rushes for the shore, seeking out a group of destined heroes to answer the threat of the beast, bestowing upon them power and the primal mandate to end this evil.

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Stalwart Defender (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)

(art by s0ulafein on DeviantArt)

There is a stereotype for dwarven fighters of them being heavily-armored warriors that can absorb damage and dish it out in equal measure, often visually resembling a walking rampart or siege tower in appearance. They may not be the fastest, but nothing gets past them, especially when part of a mighty shield wall.

While there’s plenty of opportunity for dwarves to practice other forms of martial specialization, it’s a classic image for a reason, and one that dwarves, and folks that enjoy playing dwarves, are happy to buy into.

Which is where the stalwart defender comes into play. Originally a prestige class in First Edition, the specialization returns as an archetype now, one that is not actually limited to dwarves in either incarnation, though any stalwart defenders of other ancestries will need to get training from dwarves in order to embark down this path.

But yes, in lands where dwarves are common, a highly defensive form of combatant is possible, so if that appeals to you, read on!

The base dedication for this archetype allows them to enter a special defensive stance, making them slower and less agile, but relying on their armor to protect them, letting them absorb more blows before they become truly injured. Many other feats in the archetype also use this stance.

Not every profession learns how to use heavier armors, to training to become a stalwart defender includes it, letting them improve their mastery of said armor with time as well.

Dwarven battle chants can be quite inspiring, and by remembering and reciting them, these defenders can stave off fear.

A shield can block not just blows, but the passage of enemies, and so many learn to set up an immobile stance to become as an impassable wall to their enemies.

The weight of heavy armor crushes down on the ground, and with mighty stomping steps, many learn to crush brambles, flatten uneven rock, and otherwise ignore difficult terrain.

Endurance training allows many to ignore weakness of the flesh that would make a stricken stomach or feeling of illness undermine their ability.

Sometimes there is no time to remove armor when resting, so many stalwart defenders learn how to best sleep and rest comfortably while wearing their protections.

When foes push, these defenders push back, and even a successful blow against them is rewarded by the defender upsetting their foe’s balance, punishing their every effort.

Mighty defenders can even shatter the ground beneath their feet, creating hazards that they can ignore while their foes struggle to stay steady on.

With greater passion, their chanting can help them ignore and push past all manner of mental maladies, not just fear.

Many also fully master all the armors they can use, and while stanced up, improve the benefits of such training.

With a taunt and a punishing strike, these defenders laugh off ineffective strikes and knock back foes that fail to harm them.

For some, the guarded stance of this archetype allows them to calm themselves and recover a bit in a fight, restoring their will to fight slightly.

A boulder cracks and chips, but rarely does it break outright. As such, a stanced defender can sometimes remain standing after a blow that would put down another warrior, and immediately punish foes with a strike of their own.

Those that wear armor that can act as a bulwark often specialize in it, increasing the benefits, letting the effects of spells and the like wash over their armor while they remain relatively safe.

The true masters of this vocation seem to become like the very stone itself when in their stance, reducing the amount of harm they receive from attacks.

There have been other defensive archetypes here and there, but this one is perhaps one of my favorites, and definitely rewards a player that wants to get in close and block foes from doing anything. As such, I recommend combat classes above most other options, particularly ones that have options for preventing foes from getting away or outmaneuvering you, be it with spells or class feats that keep foes close. The only classes I really don’t recommend are full casters with only unarmored defense, since that takes extra training to make them even able to take this archetype in the first place, and for most builds that might be a bridge too far, but if you can make it work, go for it. Just remember no matter what class you play that the archetype wants you to get in close and keep foes close, absorbing and deflecting everything that comes your way.

It is not just the strength of the steel in one’s armor, or the way you carry your own weight to be harder to topple that makes this archetype what it is. What really forms the core of a stalwart defender is discipline. These warriors understand better than any that in order for your enemy to fall, you must not fall first. And so they train, ignoring pain, exhaustion, and the like in order to become as hard as stone in spirit as well as body. Consider how that colors your character personality-wise.

Built in the shape of an orc and sporting a personality to match, the poppet Duskarr is proud and strong despite being made of wood and twine. In a fight, he prefers to block and endure enemy blows, pushing back against them as they exhaust themselves on his impenetrable defenses.

Dwarven expeditionary forces often keep a few stalwart defenders on the team to help fight whatever monsters are found in the dark tunnels. However, they are not suited for every encounter, such as such as shallow cisterns filled with brood leech swarms that can engulf and drain heavy warriors in spite of their armor.

Some might assume armor is simple. Forge good steel around the client’s measurments, provide protection to all areas vital and not, and enough flexibility to be able to move around reasonably well. However, Bixi the inventor is not content to let armor technology stagnate, and so she has been developing and iterating on her own personal suit of steam-powered armor, which she hopes will one day be able to stand against dragons and worse without flinching.

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Staff Acrobat (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)

(art by @5hi0_art on Twitter)

I love acrobatics. The sheer skill and bodily awareness required is truly inspiring as these athletes perfect their bodies in the name of performance.

Now, running, jumping, and flipping are all well and good, but some of the most impressive feats that fall under the purview of acrobatics occur when you give the performer a prop. Whether it be a pole to spin on, some sashes hanging from the ceiling, or even a particularly long and supple stick.

And that last example is where today’s archetype comes into play, as these performers leverage their mastery of both their bodies and their chosen implement not just for performance, but also in combat as well, becoming elegant dancers with their weapon both on stage and in combat.

As you might have guessed, this archetype is heavily associated with the Extinction Curse Adventure Path on account of it having a circus as the unifying factor and motivation for the party, but such acrobatics need not be confined to the big top. Anywhere that people enjoy a good performance could be a great way to implement this archetype.

The base dedication of the archetype lets the acrobat use the staff (be it an actual staff of some kind or a spear or polearm) to balance and vault, improving their mobility, as well as using it to trip and push foes.

In the latter case, some learn to use the leverage of their staff to push around even much larger foes.

They can even use sweeping motions to do so against multiple foes at once.

That leverage also comes in handy when actually attacking, often leaving foes off balance and more easily toppled.

Many also learn a stance that spins the weapon about often, making them masters of parrying incoming attacks.

Finally, many learn to vault and strike with their staff in one fluid motion, dealing greater damage and knocking the foe about just the same.

Monks, rogues, fighters, and even magi can have a lot of fun with this archetype, granting them much more mobility and making them better able to control a fight with their weapon. You might have them pair this up with the regular acrobat archetype for even more agility, or go without, depending on what you’re looking for.

I may not be able to relate, but it’s clear that these athletes have a love for physical activity that they carry with them, and no matter what their personalities are, they carry themselves with incredible grace and poise.

Appearing again and again, the hungerseed samsaran Ilvai has a lot of memories, both good and bad. Their favorites, however were their times when they danced with a spear, demonstrating their balance and agility for all to see.

The Red Carnival troupe has come to town, demonstrating their feats of acrobatics with all manner of implements. However, their performance is interrupted when a pack of festrogs emerges and attacks. In the aftermath, more conservative community members are quick to blame the performers for bringing such terror upon the community, and it is up to the party to investigate and find the true source of the undead invasion.

During a magical experiment, a great rift is opened up to what appears to be a marvelous performance in some far-off plane, and while that is the case, those that venture in will find the dancers and the denizens of that realm far more dangerous than anticipated.

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Spell Trickster (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)

(art by Enmanuel Martinez on Artstation)

It’s been said repeatedly on this blog and elsewhere that magic can do anything, that it is the will manifested as a law of physics, overcoming the others.

So why does it feel sometimes like in tabletop games your magical abilities are severely limited to only a handful of spell effects in your arsenal? Specific spells or magical abilities that only have a handful of applications? Sure, some systems get around this better than others, such as both versions of White Wolf’s Mage game, but for Vancian magic systems, it can feel a bit limiting.

Which is why we love ways to modify magic, such as first edition’s arcanist archetype, which in my opinion only partially succeeded, and things like the magic trick feat from Chronicle of Legends.

The latter of which seems to have been the primary inspiration for today’s subject, being an archetype that specializes in taking a handful of familiar spells in the character’s arsenal, and expanding the ways that they can be used! Sounds fun, right? Well, we’re not done there, because there’s one other inspiration here in the form of perhaps the original “modify and existing spell to be better/different, in the form of a prestige class! That’s right, I mean the old arcane trickster!

Honestly, blending in the elements of the arcane trickster, namely their most iconic ability, into this archetype is such a good idea with how multiclassing functions in Second Edition. Anyone can multiclass into both a spellcaster and a rogue and make a decent approximation for almost every other arcane trickster ability from past editions, but making mage hand-related skullduggery into part of an archetype dealing with modifying certain spells just makes sense.

But the fact that you don’t have to be a mage/rogue to take those upgrades to mage hand, and don’t have to even take that path at all makes this archetype that much more versatile!

The dedication for this archetype grants you the ability to apply a modification from the feats of this archetype to specifics spells, as well as granting you two of those lower-level feats for free. The dedication also mentions being able to change modifications with levels too, but the wording is weird there. Does it mean swapping out old feats? Adding different modification options to the same spell even though you can’t use multiple at once? Changing options picked with previous feats? (if so, that’s equally weird because none of the feats listed even have multiple options). Might need a remastered version of this archetype to clarify that.

From there, we have multiple feat options, each of which provides a way to modify a specific spell. These include.

Using mage hand to manipulate thieves tools.

Creating cover with a shield spell.

Forcibly pushing foes with mage hand.

Using a light spell to shroud weapons in dazzling light.

Creating a whole ensemble of self-playing accompaniment with summon instrument.

Using a sigil spell to track marked objects or creatures.

Conjuring a light shaped like a floating creature that follows you and can be directed with dancing lights.

Turning a net into an auto-grappling menace with animate rope.

Mirror image used to replicate the effects of certain first-edition magic that creates false flanking illusionary allies.

Being able to ride your own floating disk.

Extinguishing fire with obscuring mist.

Creating obscuring mist low to the ground to create difficult terrain by way of uncertainty.

Inflicting the target of a sleep spell with nightmares.

Coating foes in a flammable variant of grease.

Magically locating marked subjects of a sigil.

Using mage hand to steal.

Fireballs that can set foes alight.

Split double fireballs that cover smaller areas.

Gifting the stolen vitality from a vampiric touch to a nearby ally.

Creating an especially smoky fireball, with another feat improving this to choke foes with the fumes.

Using stolen vitality from a vampiric touch to remove fatigue.

Encapsulating targets of a wall of fire in a dome.

Modifying a black tentacles spell to trip foes, rather than grapple them.

And finally, modifying a cloudkill spell so that it can be directed.

Unless you plan on taking every spell that this archetype modifies, this archetype is one of those that is better dipped into to improve one or two spells that you really like, making it a good choice for both prepared casters and spontaneous ones alike, the latter with their signature spells and whatnot. So if you like the idea of making your favorite spells less one-trick, this can be a fun archetype to dip into.

This is probably obvious, but this archetype is BEGGING to be expanded on with homebrew, taking various spells and finding ways to modify them, either with alternate uses of roughly the same power or using higher level feats to make them even stronger. For example, a version of lightning bolt that forks somewhere along it’s length to cover more area, or a summoning spell that summons multiple weaker monsters akin to how they were in first edition.

Eager to demonstrate their thesis on metal elemental magics, a novice mage has been working on a way to modify a rusting grasp spell to create less destructive patinas on metal objects. However, a miscalculation caused the spell to go awry, and now the laboratory is infested by conjured rust scarabs, happily munching away on delicate esoteric equipment.

Kogran was turned into a fleshwarp decades ago by wild magic, and ever since then has been working hard on finding a way to change back. The trouble is, most magic now considers his current shape his “true form”. However, he is certain that if he makes the right modifications, he can perfect a spell that can alter that state to restore himself.

The Arcanoplinth is one of the premiere magical universities, and every year they hold several competitions that are open for any mage to join. One of the categories is the most novel application for a pre-existing spell. It is there one might be able to find never-before-seen modifications and learn them… as long as credit is given to the original creator.

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Spell Thief Operative (Operative Alternate Class Feature)

(art by Shifter07 on DeviantArt)

With its flexibility, magic is perhaps the ultimate resource, able to do anything as long as the user knows how to make it happen.

It should come as no surprise then that there are those eager to take it for themselves. Perhaps they failed to learn magic on their own but learned enough to take from others, or they are greedy types eager to gain without earning, or maybe they just really want to see mages dead.

Either way, the spell thief is exactly what it sounds like, a form of operative that takes magic from their foes and turns it against them.

Given the most basic application of their particular skillset, I think it’s fair to say these operatives mostly work as mage-slayers, whether they are specialized assassins on their own or part of a team that needs a way to take down magically-empowered foes quickly. They might hate spellcasters, or be professionally indifferent to them, but what is true is that they are at their most deadly when facing spellcasters or those that are benefitting from magic.

These operatives train in other areas, so their ability to deal extra damage is somewhat reduced. However, when striking foes in such a manner, they get an immediate sense of the magic that is currently benefitting their target, and can siphon some of the energy away into themselves, halving the duration of a spell. Once they do so, they can channel this energy into their weapons, causing their future trick attacks to become exceptionally more lethal. This may be due to the weapon becoming exceptionally sharper, being guided to the most optimal vital point, discharging the energy violently into the wound, or what have you, but the end result is the same.

Later on, they learn to instead drain the potential energy of spells from spellcasters and innately magical beings, robbing their foe of a potential spell cast.

With a bit of resolve, they can instead use the energy from a drained spell to apply that spell to themselves as well, though only for as long as the split duration lasts, though this does put them on more even playing field with their opponent.

True masters can integrate this stolen spell into their own aura, causing the stolen effects to last much longer.

The name really does say it all, and we get an operative that can steal magic just as surely as certain rogue builds in Pathfinder. However, I feel like in the effort to make this ability available at level 1, these operatives had to compromise, unable to fully dispel the spells of their foes but instead half their duration. Still, turning your d6s on trick attacks into d10s is potentially very devastating, meaning that in their element of fighting spellcasters or foes buffed by spells or magic, this option can be downright deadly. I recommend exploit and feat options that improve their ability to combat spellcasters, though don’t forget to diversify too.

While there are plenty of reasons for these characters to specialize so, either having some vendetta or not, what is likely true of most is that they likely collect magical equipment not just for use, but as trophies from their victories over mages. Such trophies might be benign, or horrifying depending on the individual.

The lashunta Piyori specializes in hunting casters, preferably those that utilize psychic magic. She is well-know for her prowess and cool demeanor and focus. However, that quickly flies out the window when her prey starts to escape her carefully-prepared killboxes. Is she just desperate to have a perfect kill record, or does something else motivate her to make sure psychics die?

The vampire lords of the rogue planet Gallik rule with terrible impunity, controlling the sources of heat that keep the habitable zone livable as well as travel to and from the starports. However, there are still those that resist their rule, many specializing in overcoming the vampire’s magical power and exploiting their arrogance.

An evil overlord, a kidnapped princess, and a blade that can slay the darkness. It sounds like a cliché fantasy novel of a bygone era, but it is an accurate assessment of the truth when Prince Helvann is forced to go underground when the usurper general slew the king and took control of the planetary government. Now, he has to go and rescue his sister and free the planet from his rule, and he’ll do it with a vibro-dagger that has implanted him with a crash course on how to absorb enemy magic, making him uniquely qualified to undermine the general’s magical defenses.