Brazen Deceiver (Bard Archetype)
We’ve got another one of those archetypes that is a complex concept tied up in setting, and especially Adventure Path lore, that Adventurer’s Guide is so very fond of, helping to fill out character concepts that have become available in the world after the first 100 volumes of APs have become the past in the latest days of First Edition.
In this case, we’re looking at a group of fast-talking thieves that serve the Council of Thieves from the city of Westcrown, acting as representatives, blackmailers, and manipulators for the council.
However, there is more to them than meets the eye, for part of the initiation to become a brazen deceiver is to be exposed to a fragment of shadowy power that is tied to the plot of the Council of Thieves Adventure Path, which I won’t spoil here.
Suffice to say that these mystic criminals are capable of supernatural feats, though it may vary whether they started out knowing magic, or if their shadowy spellcraft is tied entirely to the power that now sits within them.
Adding magic to their skills at oratory, these mystics can make even the most outlandish lies seem somewhat plausible, and are quite skilled liars and sneaks even when not using a performance.
They are also skilled at blending their magic and performances together seamlessly, making it hard to notice their casting, or using performance to maintain their spells.
Whether it is a shard of a shadowy demon or some other shadow power, these bards instinctly learn various shadowy spells, ranging from weakening foes to traveling short distances through shadow, seeing through or obscuring with shadow, and even conjuring or evoking half-real shadow energies as attacks.
Insidious in their lies, these bards have un uncanny knack for deception beyond their other abilities.
Interested in a stealthy bard with versatile shadow spells and the ability to lie their way out of any situation? This archetype may be for you. I recommend a high-dex stealthy build, able to distract and disrupt foes with their spells. That being said, don’t forget to diversify beyond debuff and control.
Honestly with their shadow powers, I feel like “brazen deceiver” is kinda a weak name for the archetype, but what’s interesting is that the source of this power, despite its nature, does not affect the morality of the recipient. With that in mind, one could come up with any number of reasons why this power exists, anything from simply training to be a shadow-wielding liar to any number of shadowy patrons.
Foul telepathic influences like the sinister omnipaths have pulled the strings of the surface world for generations, but secret ways to fight back have been crafted by those in the know, such as the way of the shadow-liar, figures that can feed even the most outlandish false information to these piscine puppetmasters with ease.
Always, the party’s patron has interacted with them through a proxy who comes and goes from the shadows with uncanny ease. However, one fateful mission has forced the party to come to the realization that their missions have all been lies, fabrications that were strangely believable at the time.
Eager to serve law and order, the aphorite Nuvik joined the Emperor’s Shadow Police believing he would be able to protect the nation from dangerous dissidents. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that his role is not to protect and serve, but to punish and enslave.