Prophet of Kalistrade (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)
(art by Rastzar on DeviantArt)
The nation of Druma has become a legendary center of trade and wealth, rivaling many other nations in terms of being legendary trade hubs.
But it never would have become known for such things if it had not been for the Prophecies of Kalistrade, penned by the man of the same name who claimed to have discovered a philosophy that was guaranteed to bring prosperity, involving a diet of “pure” foods, avoiding physical contact with those not adhering to the belief system, and of course, amassing vast quantities of wealth yet not spending it on indulgence and decadence.
Under that belief system, the adherents of this philosophy, the so-called Prophets of Kalistrade, managed to cement the nation’s independence by weaponizing debt and being extremely shrewd businessfolk. While Druma does have a government independent of the Prophets on paper, it is entirely in the pocket of the organization.
Until very recently in the setting, it was not known exactly what the end-goal of these money-grubbing elitists, but now it is becoming clear: the Prophecies of Kalistrade are a philosophical guideline for avoiding the judgment of Pharasma and being at the mercy of their final fate in the Great Beyond. All or at least some of their philosophical edicts are designed to prepare the body and soul for the final ritual involving infusing as much gold and other wealth into their body in a ritual suicide that locks their soul in a mindscape within their body, a perfect paradise where they can dwell in infinite luxury for all eternity… in theory.
However, recent events in the setting, particularly the Godsrain, have started waking up the interred prophets as jingling, lucre-filled undead denied their final rest, forcing both them and the living followers to suddenly question the veracity of Kalistrade’s writings and what is to be done about all this. Many aim to try and keep the mishap a secret and try to put the confused dead back to rest and continue as before, hiding their little trick from Pharasma and her servants.
Where your character sits on that debate is up to you, but if playing a greedy capitalist desperate to defy death sounds fun to you, or at least interesting to explore, today’s archetype might be appealing, so let’s have a look!
The base dedication of this archetype comes with great skill as a merchant and a diplomat, as well as the strictures that make it clear to most what their affiliation is. Furthermore, those without previous magical training learn a few occult cantrips.
They can take that training further to gain even more occult magic with basic training. This can later be improved to expert and master training.
Rubbing elbows in high society means that Kalistocrats overhear a lot of gossip, making them repositories of all sorts of information, albeit of dubious value.
A good business person never admits defeat, not even in the face of a potential business partner contemplating taking their business elsewhere. Instead, they keep calm and collected with a smile on their face, hoping their unflappable attitude can help them win others back, or at least, keep them perceptive enough to better react if things go south and swords are drawn.
The Prophets of Kalistrade make their own luck whenever possible, but they would be a foolish indeed to not take advantage of a wave of good fortune when it hits, leaning into that good luck when it hits for even greater chances of success.
Those that wish to lean into their spellcasting can train to have a greater potential for spellcasting and of course learn more spells to go with it.
Keeping valuable items safe is paramount to a Kalistocrat, so some learn a spell for turning a container into a imaginary form in their mind, keeping it and it’s contents safe until needed.
Kalistrade teaches that perseverance in the face of adversity is the path to success, and his most skilled followers are quite adept at putting that to use, turning yesterday’s failures in business into tomorrow’s successes.
This archetype offers a combination of decent archetype spellcasting with an array of abilities useful for social encounters. Obviously if you play with a spellcaster base class the spellcasting side of the archetype is of no use, but if you like benefiting from fortune effects and having a special lore that can in theory give you info on anything (provided the secret roll succeeds or you can parse the misinformation), this archetype might work well for you.
Now, obviously Kalistrade and those that followed in his footsteps are deeply selfish and hypocritical people. After all, they use the trappings of asceticism to try and avoid the one thing that an ascetic lifestyle is supposed to help you reconcile with. However, at the same time, nobody is the villain of their own story, so creating a character with this archetype can be just as compelling as more heroic characters, and some may become heroic in their own way along the journey too.
The villain that the party has been destined to face is a powerful psychic with obscene wealth that seems to be amassing power and gold for some sort of sinister purpose. He has used countless pawns, lackies, and catspaws, including a kindly old man who was the foremost genius in terms of magic and alchemy. The same man the villain just murdered in cold blood in front of the party.
The aristocratic upper class weave petty games with each other that have consequences for the entire nation, but perhaps no group among them is more insidious than the Wise Ones, members of a new cult seemingly designed to validate their wealth and power as the signs of their enlightenment and purity. Greelg Rocktooth, a goblin oread crime boss, wants dirt on the cult for use as blackmail, and he’s willing to pay handsomely for it.
The party has gotten a tip on the location of a mausoleum of an especially wealthy lord who exploited and gouged to enrich himself at the expense of everyone under his power. Robbing him blind and redistributing his wealth would be a fine way to help heal those affected by his greed, but it isn’t just traps that guard the tomb. Chief among the defenders is a powerful clockwork amalgam that hides integrated into the very walls, and carries a dark seed of the noble’s own consciousness, projected from his own personal paradise afterlife.