Harrow Warden (Monk Archetype)
Today we have yet another harrow-themed archetype, but this one is unique in that this is the first to my knowledge that has no spellcasting ability.
Indeed, the only mystical ability these monks have seem to be focusing their ki in line with the various legends associated with the harrow deck. In the world of Golarion, these are almost exclusively varisian ascetics who seek self-understanding to better discover the forgotten secrets of their people’s past.
Outside of that setting, they might share a similar background, or merely have blended those cards into the ascetic lessons of their practice.
Punishing attacks make the core of many a monk style, but few can emulate bad luck with their ki the way these wardens do, using the Idiot card of harrow as a basis for wreaking havoc on a foe’s fate even as they injure their body.
Silencing boldness and cunning, these monks can take away such advantages and metaphysical forms of awareness with the Mute Hang Stance. This projects as short-range aura meant to unnerve their foes.
Freedom is the concept behind the Big Sky card, and when these monks learn the stance of the same name, they find that magic can no longer shackle them with curses or forms not their own.
The Eclipse is a card of fate gone awry, of lost purpose. Using their ki in strange ways, these warriors can perform a strike that is appropriate to this card in a novel way, namely by polymorphing the foe into an inconsequential animal, effectively removing them from their destiny until they are freed from the effect.
If you’re interested in a monk with a unique set of abilities, this might be for you, adding new defensive abilities and ways to punish foes, all with a theme of fate and the harrow cards. Pretty much any basic monk build works well with this archetype, so go for it! The fact they can use starknives as monk weapons only increases their possibilities.
Though they are monks of the harrow, one can’t help but notice that only four cards have techniques based off of them in this archetype. Might others exist? Variant versions of the archetype based around such things? Entire other archetypes from other classes that devote to other cards? I smell a homebrewing opportunity.
Rather than sit in quiet meditation in some remote place, the Sisterhood of Fate takes a more proactive approach to their quest for enlightenment, seeking to aid others in finding their destiny to better understand their own. On occasion, they even seek to quash darker destinies that would bring ruin to the world.
They say that long ago, a sorcerer of destiny named Anosh stopped a demonic invasion single-handedly, though it nearly cost him his life. The Monastary of Cards supposedly was founded by that ancient mage, promising a great understanding of the cards and of their role in revealing the fate of others.
Their cards marked on thick vellum, coated to keep out water, the grippli of Berdu are famed for their fortune-telling. Some say that there are many secrets in these cards, now lost to the frog people. Those among them seeking the truth behind them become guardians of their people’s lore, wardens of their culture.