Avalancher (Slayer Archetype)
In various media, few things are more satisfying than delivering a particularly deadly blow from above. Whether it is a strike adding the force of gravity to the character’s weapon, or performing strikes and shots in the middle of a leap or fall, such maneuvers can be hard to defend against.
While they certainly have other tricks in their arsenals, some slayers master the art of such strikes, hoping that the element of surprise, higher ground, and momentum can see them to victory in seconds.
While called avalanchers due to their association with mountainous terrain, anywhere from treetops to roofs are places where this technique might crop up, since most prey, even humanoids, rarely look up.
As one might expect, these slayers have their greatest advantage not just to accuracy and damage, but also to stealth when attacking while dropping from above, which only increases with their mastery.
Any profession that involves leaping from great height requires some understanding of how to reduce the impact of a fall, so naturally avalanchers are very good at it.
They also learn how to use their falls to avoid blows while in the air.
Whether it is in melee or with a ranged weapon, these assassins learn the art of attacking repeatedly on the way down during a leap and a fall, making them simultaneously mobile and deadly in areas with lots of vertical elevation, though such maneuvers tend to spread their attacks among several targets, and even strike for their vitals while foes are distracted by the movement itself.
Like other slayers, the true masters are able to slay or disable a foe with a single blow, but avalanchers do so against foes they strike from above, rather than those they have studied.
Interested in a slayer that tries to end things in one blow from a powerful ambush? Want to take advantage of one of the earliest tactical advantages ever conceived? This archetype may be for you. Without studied target, you’ll be relying mostly on your high ground for advantages. I recommend a high stealth and acrobatics-based build, particularly one supplemented by abilities and magic that increases mobility, so you can get into position, strike from above, and if things get dicey, retreat to your vantage point and reevaluate.
Due to the requirement of elevation, this archetype can likely only be found in lands or settlements where such climbable terrain is available… with one exception. Ancestries and species that have the capacity for flight, such as strix or wyvarans, might pick up this skill no matter where they dwell. That being said, such flying beings might already dwell in such high places on account of the security they offer against landbound foes anyway.
While most of their kind prefer solid ground, the orang-pendak of Noshomen have developed a knack for attacking from the treetops with a fury that throws all caution to the wind, leaping from above to club interlopers or snipe them with slings from midair. This fury has made exploration into their lands incredibly difficult, as one might imagine.
The Bloody Beak is the public name of an order of assassins who do not share the group’s real name with anyone. Their favored method is to strike as a bird of prey from above, even going so far to use flying magic if their target flees to open land with no elevated positions. And now, a team of these killers stalks the party.
Carefully tending the assassin-god’s hidden shrines, the constructs known as celedons act as his last line of defense against discovery, and occasionally, as cleaners when a mortal worshipper fails a killing. Such celedons stalk their prey, and drop upon them like the literal mass of blessed metal that they are.
