Using the Archivist or Rune magic in game can be an interesting and surprising variation from the Wizard. It provides clearly different abilities and descriptions while still being close to the familiar mechanics.
The Runic charge mechanic does mean that enemies should ideally last more that a few rounds to get the most out of the change. If they are unlikely to last long enough you can start them out with a few charges, or give abilities that grant the creature Runic charges from other things than casting Scripts.
Adapting a monster with spellcasting or spell-like abilities to use Rune magic is very easy. Just replace the spells with appropriate Scripts and slap a few runes on the critter to make a runic variant. If the spellcasting is secondary to the creatures encounter role adding an ability that grants Runic charges when performing its primary role will help integrating the Rune magic and make for a more interesting encounter.
A more difficult approach is using the Runic charge system to generate and pay for other custom abilities, without ever casting Scripts at all. The abilities might require charges of a specific Design/School or give different effects. While more complicated to make it gives the monster play very differently depending on how it generates and spends charges, eventually allowing the players to learn tactics for countering and exploiting the abilities over multiple encounters.
The Mirage Cage is a dungeon in the shape of a Rune of Counterspell. Anyone who sleeps in the dungeon automatically counterspells the first spell cast on them the following day.
In rare cases Guardian Scrolls that stay in close contact with powerful grimoires for extended periods can awaken. These intelligent constructs often show great affinity for rune magic.
Monster Ability: Runeguard
When the creature’s SR negates a spell the creature receives a Runic Charge of the appropriate Design. Any charges gained over the creatures maximum are lost without effect.
Showing posts with label Archivist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Archivist. Show all posts
Thursday, 7 May 2020
Wednesday, 6 May 2020
Archivist Multiclassing and Gestalt
The central problem of multiclassing the Archivist is that they are a full caster class, and there is little that is more valuable in Pathfinder 1e than that. Dipping Archivist might be more useful because of a particular quirk or Rune Casting: The lack of Somatic components. If you want to add some magical abilities to a martial character dipping into Archivist can get you that with less complications than Arcane Magic.
Gestalting comes with the same considerations as other full casters: It requires a lot of actions and as such works best with more passive classes. The ability to cast in heavy armor and with both hands full again opens some options that don’t work well with other full casters.
An interesting option is the Runesmith from Interjection Games, a class that uses runes to enhance theirs and other’s equipment.
Pet classes like the Summoner or Vanguard can be flavored to have their pet summoned or created with rune magic.
The broken scribes are a loose group of Scribes who use Aboleth glyphs to draw and shape Ether, a strange power from beyond reality.
Runic Spell (Metamagic)
You can cast spells in runic form.
Requirements: Ability to cast 2nd level Scripts
Advantages: A runic spell is cast with no somatic components, but with a vocal component. Once successfully cast it gives the caster a Runic Charge of an appropriate Design.
Level Increase: +1
Therkla Proudfoot often surprises her opponents with her runic enhanced strength.
Gestalting comes with the same considerations as other full casters: It requires a lot of actions and as such works best with more passive classes. The ability to cast in heavy armor and with both hands full again opens some options that don’t work well with other full casters.
An interesting option is the Runesmith from Interjection Games, a class that uses runes to enhance theirs and other’s equipment.
Pet classes like the Summoner or Vanguard can be flavored to have their pet summoned or created with rune magic.
The broken scribes are a loose group of Scribes who use Aboleth glyphs to draw and shape Ether, a strange power from beyond reality.
Runic Spell (Metamagic)
You can cast spells in runic form.
Requirements: Ability to cast 2nd level Scripts
Advantages: A runic spell is cast with no somatic components, but with a vocal component. Once successfully cast it gives the caster a Runic Charge of an appropriate Design.
Level Increase: +1
Therkla Proudfoot often surprises her opponents with her runic enhanced strength.
Tuesday, 5 May 2020
Archivist Class Features
As a full caster the Archivist has relatively few class features. The Archivist has d6 HP, 2+int Skill Points and ½ BAB. His Class Skills are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Fly (Dex), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
At first level the Archivist gains his Rune Magic, his first bonus feat chosen from a Rune Casting focused list and has to choose a specialization called a Study.
A Study is the specialization class feature of the Archivist, giving the them additional abilities at specific levels, as well as an additional bonus when overloading a Script with the right type of Runic Charge. Besides the six Studies for each of the six Designs there are 12 more specialized Study options available in the 3rd chapter.
Altered Script is gained at fourth level, allowing the Archivist to change the Design of their Runic Charges once per day.
More bonus feats, Study abilities and Altered Script uses come one by one every two levels. The capstone at level 20 is a final Study ability.
In short the class features of the Archivist can be summed up as ‘Wizard, but Rune Casting’. Most of the build choices comes from what you want to do as caster, with each Design heaving its own specialization.
The dungeon has lines of meaningless text blocking some of the corridors. Anyone going over the lines is forced to make a Will save or temporary become unable to read, as well as losing 1d6 random Runic Charges.
Mirabelle Spellpage is a renowned siege weapon enchanter, and a secret cultist of a demon lord of forbidden knowledge who uses sacrifices to power her enchantments.
Runecharged Amulet, 250 gp.
This clay amulet is inscribed with runes and holds a single runic charge of a specific Design.
A Scribe can use this Runic Charge with any abilities that use runic charges or to overload a script. The runic charge within the amulet does not count against its users normal maximum of runic charges he can maintain at once based on his scribe level.
The scribe still cannot overload more charges into a given script than his normal maximum. If he has more runic charges available than his normal maximum, he chooses which of the ones available to him are overloaded into the script. He does not have to use the charge in the amulet if does not wish to, but must otherwise overload as many charges he can as normal.
To randomly determine what runic charge design is in the amulet, roll on the following table:
d% Charge Type
01–16 Alteration
17–33 Creation
34–50 Destruction
51–67 Invocation
68–84 Manipulation
85–100 Revelation
At first level the Archivist gains his Rune Magic, his first bonus feat chosen from a Rune Casting focused list and has to choose a specialization called a Study.
A Study is the specialization class feature of the Archivist, giving the them additional abilities at specific levels, as well as an additional bonus when overloading a Script with the right type of Runic Charge. Besides the six Studies for each of the six Designs there are 12 more specialized Study options available in the 3rd chapter.
Altered Script is gained at fourth level, allowing the Archivist to change the Design of their Runic Charges once per day.
More bonus feats, Study abilities and Altered Script uses come one by one every two levels. The capstone at level 20 is a final Study ability.
In short the class features of the Archivist can be summed up as ‘Wizard, but Rune Casting’. Most of the build choices comes from what you want to do as caster, with each Design heaving its own specialization.
The dungeon has lines of meaningless text blocking some of the corridors. Anyone going over the lines is forced to make a Will save or temporary become unable to read, as well as losing 1d6 random Runic Charges.
Mirabelle Spellpage is a renowned siege weapon enchanter, and a secret cultist of a demon lord of forbidden knowledge who uses sacrifices to power her enchantments.
Runecharged Amulet, 250 gp.
This clay amulet is inscribed with runes and holds a single runic charge of a specific Design.
A Scribe can use this Runic Charge with any abilities that use runic charges or to overload a script. The runic charge within the amulet does not count against its users normal maximum of runic charges he can maintain at once based on his scribe level.
The scribe still cannot overload more charges into a given script than his normal maximum. If he has more runic charges available than his normal maximum, he chooses which of the ones available to him are overloaded into the script. He does not have to use the charge in the amulet if does not wish to, but must otherwise overload as many charges he can as normal.
To randomly determine what runic charge design is in the amulet, roll on the following table:
d% Charge Type
01–16 Alteration
17–33 Creation
34–50 Destruction
51–67 Invocation
68–84 Manipulation
85–100 Revelation
Sunday, 3 May 2020
Archivist Intro
The Archivist is the full caster of Path of Iron’s new Rune Magic
system. They are scholars of this ancient form of magic, much of
which has been lost over time. Rune Magic is divided into six schools
and the Archivist is required to specialize in one of them. The
unique aspect of Rune Magic is how some of the power of a cast script
remains in the runes. These Runic Charges can be used to power up
other scripts cast, and the Archivist learns new methods to use this
power though his specialized study.
The art of writing is ancient and diverse, and can mean very different things to different peoples and societies, though it is commonly ascribed mystical power by the illiterate masses. When creating an Archivist think about how the society they come from sees writing and how that influences the way they approach their magic. In some places the ability to write is restricted to the elite or to certain groups within society. Whether the Archivist confirms to those rules or not will tell much about them. In the warrior’s nation of Alethkar writing is seen as a feminine art and the male warriors look down on the ability to read and write. In the ancient empire of Babiros the skill of vital for the administration of the city states, and for maintaining the wards that steer the rivers though the great waterworks. As such only the rulers are allowed to learn how to write. The methods, tools and materials used in writing are often a reflection of the society that produces it, from the graceful lines of Elven poetry written in flowing inks to the sharp lines of Dwarven history carved in mile high walls. To many writing is the difference between civilization and barbarism, between learning and ignorance. And in the same way to a tribal storyteller the custom of writing their stories down shows the weak memories of city folk. To Archivists coming from such wild peoples runes might not be a method of writing, but sacred pictographs that call divine power. To them leaving the runes for longer than is needed to call upon their power would be a grave insult.
NPC Archivists can be useful sources of ancient knowledge, or for unlocking that ancient tome the party wizard cannot seem to crack. In combat they make for unusual and surprising allies and enemies. Especially for enemies it might be useful to start them with some runic charges, to make certain they get the change to unleash their scripts to full effect in the few rounds most enemies get in combat.
For the goblins of the moors Write You Down is a figure of terror. And in that terror the ascribe far greater powers to the goblin than she is likely to have.
The ancient Elven sage Folmer has not spoken or heeded a spoken word for centuries. For most people conversation with the obstinate scholar is a chore, but for the avid letter writer (DC 15 linguistics or forgery) he is a treasure trove of knowledge on ancient texts, languages and eldritch tomes.
Ordinary scripts are not sufficient for the needs of the Heavenly Bureaucracy, and indeed the planar scribes of that divine institution have mastered scripts that bend the nature of the world it is meant to describe.
The archivists of the Historians Archive seek to find and preserve all texts that enter the port city. All the writings in their archives are eventually translated and rerecorded in a specialized script whose runes carry the preserving magics meant to guard the tomes through the ages.
Dwammod is looking for allies who are willing to join an expedition into the Underdark to seek ancient texts his ancestors left in the deep cities during the Quest for the Sky.
The art of writing is ancient and diverse, and can mean very different things to different peoples and societies, though it is commonly ascribed mystical power by the illiterate masses. When creating an Archivist think about how the society they come from sees writing and how that influences the way they approach their magic. In some places the ability to write is restricted to the elite or to certain groups within society. Whether the Archivist confirms to those rules or not will tell much about them. In the warrior’s nation of Alethkar writing is seen as a feminine art and the male warriors look down on the ability to read and write. In the ancient empire of Babiros the skill of vital for the administration of the city states, and for maintaining the wards that steer the rivers though the great waterworks. As such only the rulers are allowed to learn how to write. The methods, tools and materials used in writing are often a reflection of the society that produces it, from the graceful lines of Elven poetry written in flowing inks to the sharp lines of Dwarven history carved in mile high walls. To many writing is the difference between civilization and barbarism, between learning and ignorance. And in the same way to a tribal storyteller the custom of writing their stories down shows the weak memories of city folk. To Archivists coming from such wild peoples runes might not be a method of writing, but sacred pictographs that call divine power. To them leaving the runes for longer than is needed to call upon their power would be a grave insult.
NPC Archivists can be useful sources of ancient knowledge, or for unlocking that ancient tome the party wizard cannot seem to crack. In combat they make for unusual and surprising allies and enemies. Especially for enemies it might be useful to start them with some runic charges, to make certain they get the change to unleash their scripts to full effect in the few rounds most enemies get in combat.
For the goblins of the moors Write You Down is a figure of terror. And in that terror the ascribe far greater powers to the goblin than she is likely to have.
The ancient Elven sage Folmer has not spoken or heeded a spoken word for centuries. For most people conversation with the obstinate scholar is a chore, but for the avid letter writer (DC 15 linguistics or forgery) he is a treasure trove of knowledge on ancient texts, languages and eldritch tomes.
Ordinary scripts are not sufficient for the needs of the Heavenly Bureaucracy, and indeed the planar scribes of that divine institution have mastered scripts that bend the nature of the world it is meant to describe.
The archivists of the Historians Archive seek to find and preserve all texts that enter the port city. All the writings in their archives are eventually translated and rerecorded in a specialized script whose runes carry the preserving magics meant to guard the tomes through the ages.
Dwammod is looking for allies who are willing to join an expedition into the Underdark to seek ancient texts his ancestors left in the deep cities during the Quest for the Sky.
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