#hallucinist

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sirscrewloose said:                                                                                                                            Oh holy shit that’s neat, is this on the std yet? 

As a matter of fact it is on both the srd and the prd.                          

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Hallucinist (Investigator Archetype)

Perception and intellect have always been a big part of any successful investigator, and pathfinder’s investigator class boast both, with the occasional help from their knowledge of pseudo-arcane alchemy.

Some, however, take alchemical enhancement to a whole other level, using the way certain toxins bend the senses to notice what others do not, to make logical leaps that few others could on their own. These hallucinists regularly imbibe such drugs and hallucinogens, and as such are able to handle the bizarre sensory input they grant, a fact they use to their advantage, not just in enhanced perception, but also in terms of using them against less-acclimated foes.

Regardless, we’ve tackled similar alchemical themes before with the likes of the psychonaut alchemist, which bends perception to an even greater degree of preternatural awareness. So it makes sense that these chemists would likely be part of the same sort of school of thought.

Though they may seem loopy and erratic, there’s no denying that their chemically-enhanced awareness gets results.

 Learning to craft a mind-altering mixture is the first thing these investigators learn to do, refining it with experience. This psychoactive substand increases their attention to detail, but also increases their sensitivity to light, granting them the ability to see in low light, and later, total darkness. It also grants them sight beyond sight, seeing invisible things and even perceiving the auras of living things. However, the concoction messes with their equilibrium and coordination.

Their interest in drugs give them an insider’s perspective when identifying them and mixing them, and they can, with effort, render both mundane and magical drugs inert with a few added chemicals.

Using said drugs also increases their resistance to such things, eventually making them completely immune to drugs, though they can choose to reduce their immunity to partake in the effects.

Altered perception allows them to see the unseen, but it can be overwhelming to others. As such, these investigators learn rudimentary magic to share their experiences with those around them, creating illusionary vistas, phantom assailants, and even bizarre mixing of the senses. They can even later bend how other things are viewed by supernatural senses that others possess, altering the auras of objects and creatures.

The hyperawareness of these detectives also plays into combat, and with a little inspiration while under the effects of their drugs, they can study and predict the behaviors of multiple foes at once, gaining the advantage even when outnumbered.

Interested in a chemically-enhanced investigator with unique powers? This might be useful. Albeit, the drug-related powers not tied to their concoctions may have varying use depending on the presence of such substances in your game, but being able to get magical sense and multiple studied combats at once can be quite useful, especially when fighting larger groups of foes when taking actions to study foes quickly becomes expensive.

 It goes without saying that archetypes and character options that depict drug use should really only be used by those mature enough to understand the difference between drugs in the real world and those in a fantasy world. Also, accurately depicting a character under the influence can and should be a lot more nuanced than acting like a stereotypical stoner, so keep that in mind. Also consider how important GM description is in making the hallucinations and bizarre, skewed information feel authentic.

  Mysterious murders have a city’s constabulary vexed, and things have only gotten worse when the head investigator witnessed the killer while under the effects of her mind-enhancing concoctions, fleeing in a panic from “The Horror Behind the Face”

 The Moon Blossom drug dealing ring has never been fully been uprooted, because even the guard uses their substances. Obstensibly to get an edge, but the more they use them, the more they need. One can’t argue the results though.

 Most planar scholars know of the ethereal plane, the plane of shadows, and the plane of dreams, which all border the material world. However, some posit a sort of space on the border between the material and these planes, a sort of otherworld that can’t be accessed by planar travel, but glimpsed by an altered mind. Those that subscribe to this often use drugs to try and see what secrets they can uncover by viewing it.

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