Arcane Tinkerer (Arcanist Archetype)
(art by Waltercomics87 on DeviantArt)
Perhaps the poster child of my problems with the Construct Handbook, today we’re looking at an archetype whose name suggests that they are good at crafting constructs. However, all of the special abilities of this archetype are geared towards destroying constructs instead. Not saying you can’t also build them to be construct crafters, but still, this focus on destroying or emulating constructs, with literally only one archetype geared towards making a single subset of them vexes me.
Regardless of my feelings on the matter, I present the arcane tinkerer!
These arcanists, like all of their craft, dare to fiddle around with the laws of magic, testing them in ways considered dangerous by others. In particular, they focus on the exact inner workings of constructs, trying to understand exactly what makes them tick, from the creations of modern foundries to ancient guardians whose secret of creation has been long lost, and even the simple crafted servants of more rural areas.
While they may study these things in theory or to try and put them into practice creating their own, they can also use the secrets to unmake constructs with skill the surprises most other mages.
More so than other spellcasters, these mystics have learned to see the energies manipulating constructs, and with a little energy of their own, try to arrest them. At first, they can only slow their attacks a little, but by training this ability, they can upgrade it to significantly slow them down, or even bring them to a helpless standstill for a few moments, making them easier for them and their allies to fight them.
The magic immunity of golems and golem-like constructs is what makes them a terror to most mages, who have to either work around them with indirect spells or those that allow no resistance. Arcane Tinkerers, however, learn the secrets of how to truly get around this immunity, treating it as a strong spell resistance instead, which grows weaker as they grow stronger. Certainly there is still a chance of failure, but the shock on their master’s face when a powerful spell pierces that defense is priceless.
A fairly simple archetype, whether you make them an anti-golem hunter or a master of creating their own, I definitely recommend exploits and feats that help them pierce spell resistance, as that is useful across the board, not just their interest in constructs. Beyond that, a variety of spells that cannot be all blocked out by the same type of defense is very useful here.
Depending on their outlook, these arcanists might consider constructs their enemy, or be absolutely fascinated by them, and there is plenty to be said about character arcs involving the creation and perfection of construct design, perhaps creating sapient constructs in a bid to create their own form of life.
They say that the very first constructs were made in the laboratory of Mystic Zhotal, which is now colloquially called the Golem Foundry in legend. A young arcanist hires the party to accompany her, claiming to have found its location.
Seeing the cycle of life, death, and reincarnation as a sort of cosmic clock, Najier the samsaran has a long history across their past lives of a fascination with clockwork, even having invented a few innovations in the field in their past lives. As such, they left several vaults guarded by clockwork soldiers that in theory will allow them to enter and reclaim their lives’ work.
The golem-killers of Tirkanan have long studied the arts of destroying the abominations of industrial Gurvra, but in order to pierce the immunity to magic, they need special powders and fetishes made from something with a sympathetic connection to penetration, in this case the wall-splitting beak of a kongamato dragon.
