#magic tactics toolbox

[dailycharacteroption]

Fun with Feats 14: Item Mastery Feats

(art by captdiablo on DeviantArt)

A funny thing about magic in both mythology and fiction is that is pretty much does anything that the writer feels it should. Sure, there are plenty of magic systems in fiction with their own rules for how they work, but all of that can fly out the window the moment the author had a neat idea to solve a problem in the story (or start one), they want to shake things up a bit, or they just forgot.

A result we sometimes see with this is magical items that seem pretty flexible in what they can do. Sometimes a magic item just does whatever the writer wants it to be able to do at the time, and sometimes it has established powers, but then the writer comes up with a clever application for that power or just pull a new power for it out of their patoot with varying degrees of justification.

And that’s all fine and good for storytelling (much to the disagreement of an army of internet armchair writers that think that internal consistency is somehow the point of writing stories), but this gets a little tricky in gaming, where the magical properties of the various doodads the party picks up not only obey the rules of whatever magical system is associated with the world, but with the rules of the game itself. A magic weapon only provides the benefits listed in it’s stats.

However, as we’ve established, a magic item that can do a lot of things isn’t necessarily bad writing, and there is an appeal in a character that can do a lot of things with their signature magic sword or staff or whatever.

Which is where we get the Item Mastery feats. Heavily associated with the Relic Master archetype for fighter, these feats are available to anyone who can meet the prerequisites, and are meant to emulate the vibe of a character being able to do a lot more things with a magic item that on paper has limited usage.

The reasons for why and how are deliberately left vague. Maybe they have a special quality that unlocks the items potential. Maybe the item could always do that and the character is innovative enough to exploit that. Or maybe it’s like the magical equipment of jury rigging a machine to perform a very different function. No matter the reason, these wielders can unlock various other exploits and tricks based on the schools of magic in the items they wield and wear.

So, the feats in this category can be subdivided into two major subsets. The first and most numerous of them are the feats that allow the wielder to replicate the effects of several classic spells that are indicative of a school of magic by fiddling with the workings of a magic item that includes that school among it’s aura. Energy Mastery lets you blast foes with cones and lines of elemental energy based on the elements associated with the item, Concealment and Illusion Master grant invisibility and minor image from illusion items, Teleportation Mastery let’s the user cast dimension door with a conjuration item, and so on.

The other set is pretty much “everything else” but includes the likes of Implement Mastery allowing an occultist to use their implements for the other item mastery feats even if they themselves aren’t technically magic items, or firing beams of various flavors of divine wrath from a holy symbol with the Symbolic Mastery feats.

This set of feats is fun and interesting, and actually gives an excuse to put ranks in Use Magic Device outside of fringe cases and playing a gadgeteer rogue. Honestly I think I see most uses for these feats coming from combat classes that want a little extra oomph from their arsenal, or occultists looking for a neat trick. That being said, the Symbolic Mastery feat in particular is a fun way to give a cleric a ranged attack no matter what domains or spells they like to prepare. Also, notably because the uses per day of these feats are determined mostly by one’s fortitude saves, it neatly ties into the idea that this manipulation of the energies of a magical item is at least in part fueled by the user’s own vital essence. Only a few builds will lean heavily into these tricks, but others can still make use of one or two as a way to make their wielding of a signature item that much more neat.

[dailycharacteroption]

Drovier (Druid Archetype)

 The mental image that many have of druids these days is of reclusive mystics living far from civilization, concerned more with protecting and revering the natural world directly.

However, let’s take a moment to remind ourselves that real-world druids, as well as any similar beings like shamans, witch doctors, and the like, were first and foremost servants of their people. They would use their knowledge to heal others, as well as interpret the natural world around them and give explanations and solace against the often strange and unpredictable world around them.

Which brings us to today’s subject. Viewing the communities they watch over almost as a herd or flock the same way that a herder watches over the beasts in their care, the druids known as droviers specialize in not just protecting a community, but finding ways to bolster them as well.

The exact nature of the dynamic varies by culture, with some droviers viewing themselves as pack leaders that others pay homage to, while others are more nurturing or even impersonal, aiding any who travel their way as if they were one of their own.

No matter their methodology, a people under the protection of a drovier know that nature is, more often than not, on their side.

 Not focused on animals the way another druid might be, these druids always choose the Animal domain, or the Eagle or Wolf druid domains, reflecting their focus on animal aspects, community, or distant watchfulness.

They also learn not to transform themselves, but to grant minor animal transformations and blessings to those nearby, as the animal aspect spell. Later on, they improve this to the greater version, and then begin adding individual aspect spells. Regardless of which they use, these druids prove their ability to bolster those nearby with protection and useful abilities, be they wards under their care, or companions in arms.

Focused as they are on bolstering their alles, this archetype is perfect for a support druid build, making use of the deep pool of useful buffs that druids have access to in addition to the unique abilities of the archetype. That being said, be sure to diversify with control and damaging spells too to diversify.

 Druids are already assumed to be wise and understanding people, but it behooves a drovier to be especially well-versed in empathy and insightful thinking. They might act as advisors and guides to entire communities, to say nothing of an adventuring party, after all.

  Though remote, Nahajin village is quite prosperous, watched over by a circle of druids that guide them to live in harmony with the natural world. However, visitors will note strange shifts in personality in the residents from day to day. The truth being the village is an experiment by Yithians in mind-shifting techniques, and the droviers watching the town are Yithian Elders.

 Duskwalkers sometimes walk the road of the drovier, particularly in nations where disaster has struck. In such a role, they can guide the people to better days, as well as turn them away from desperate and unnatural acts to get back what or who they lost.

 Seeking the knowledge of the nomadic Poshan, the party follows their trail into the desert. However, they find the tribe already waiting for them, their leader having watched the party via his hawk familiar. What happens next depends upon how the party conveys themselves.

[dailycharacteroption]

Divine Scourge (Cleric Archetype)

(art by Kaue Padau on Artstation)

 In mythology and in fantasy stories, you sometimes run across stories of folk that get divine curses laid upon them. Sometimes these are because the mortal in question did something that terribly provoked the deity’s wrath, deserved or not. Others simply ran afoul a particularly cruel divinity.

Regardless, divine curses are a long-standing trope in stories, but while many such tales have the deity themselves showing up to deliver the curse, in a world where priests are empowered by the divine, such curses might be meted out by them instead. In fact, there are some that dedicate their lives to this role, becoming divine scourges.

Now, obviously, this particular profession is not common among goodly gods, save for the most focused on law and/or just punishment for the wicked. However, more neutral deities might have scourges meting out punishment according to the principles of their faith, anything from teaching good life lessons to just punishment for grievous wrongs, to pure vindictiveness. And of course, evil gods often delight in causing suffering regardless of the justification.

In order to pursue their path of punishment, these clerics are granted not just traditional clerical power, but also divine magic resembling the more hostile side of witch hexes, adding an edge of old world vengeance to the class, as we shall soon see.

 These bringers of misfortune on gain power over one domain, specifically the subdomain of curses, which is an extension of luck. With it, they gain a combination of spells and abilities that both protect and remove curses, as well as bestow them on foes. This is true even for deities that do not grant the curse subdomain, or even the luck domain.

They also learn a variety of hostile hexes from a short list, including those that blight the land, leave cursed wounds, inflict curses with a glare, cause unluck, leave mystical marks, unnerve beasts, cause pain, freeze foes from within, poison wounds, inflict nightmares, and sympathetic wounds on attackers.

With both a variety of hexes and the curse subdomain, these clerics can be masters of both short and long-term debilitation, but also a source of freedom from such curses as well. Without channel energy their ability to heal is limited, but I would still recommend a build dedicated to dropping debuffs on foes and protections for allies.

 The idea of a divine scourge, of a mortal being the agent of a deity’s wrath has a lot of vibes from ancient beliefs like the pantheon of ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, and so on, but also some elements of the early days of the Abrahamic faiths as well. This flavor of the ancient world is fine and dandy, but I imagine that these clergyfolk will clash with those that believe in mercy over punishment, even within their own faith. With that in mind, they might exist in their own isolated sects which might believe that the mainstream faith is soft and weak, or at least, that their own ways must rarely be called upon. Or if they have power within the faith, they might turn their divine judgement erroneously upon their own, causing them and the surrounding communities to live in fear. Of course, if they cross certain lines, they may find their power waning as well.

  With snarling voices hurling invectives, the gargoyles of Volkas Pass are more than mere raiders, they are layers of curses. Indeed, they follow the god of Hatred, and their cruel magic has earned them the name Stone Furies.

 Far from the city, they say that one of the great scourges, the priests of punishment from the days of the war, still lives, refusing to give up his divine power to curse and punish though there remains no need. Most avoid him as an ill omen, but there a few who remember the dark times as well as a man who would not allow himself to forget.

 The lone priest warned that the entire kingdom would pay for their liege’s cruelty, and though he was mocked, the truth of his warning has been made manifest. It started slow, with strong workers suddenly becoming overcome with a weakness that would not past, and scholars suddenly finding their own writings confusing and impenetrable. However, now bouts of misfortune and ennui give way to outright plague, and horrible rat kings manifesting in the sewers.

[dailycharacteroption]

Cryptid Scholar (Investigator Archetype)

 If medieval bestiaries, video game wikis, and the entire pseudo-science of cryptozoology are anything to go by, it becomes increasingly clear that mythological beasts of cultures past and present are an endless source of fascination for the very human beings who created them in the first place.

Admittedly, at the time, the people telling those stories in the ancient past were completely convinced that such creatures did exist, with some being based on very loose accounts and descriptions of real-world animals, or were wholly fictitious entities that may very well have been allegories in their own right.

Regardless, where storytellers speak of monsters, there will be those that wish to catalogue and understand them, especially in a fantasy world where that instinct can be channeled towards a scholarly understanding of actual monsters.

In many fantasy rpg games, knowledge skill checks to identify monsters that a character has never encountered before can be explained as the character having heard stories, or perhaps read through a bestiary. However, while your average adventurer might focus on the strengths, weaknesses, and perhaps behaviors of a monster, today’s subject: the cryptid scholar, seeks to understand all they can about monsters, delving into the ecology, the psychology, and the biology of such beings.

While others feel dread at the sound of the massive footfalls of the dragon, these scholars grow excited, eager to study them and even interview them if given the chance.

This fascination gives them a reputation of being eccentric, which might make them seem strange to others, including their peers and colleagues in academia, but most don’t mind, instead pursuing rumors of monster sightings to observe them in the field. Naturally, they work best with a party of adventurers to help protect them, as well as benefit from their vast knowledge.

 Naturally, these scholars are extremely knowledgeable about monsters, even those associated with disciplines that the scholar doesn’t know as much about.

In combat, these scholars can give advice and observations on the tactics and limitations of a species to give allies an edge in defending against them.

Additionally, they can end this advice to signal the perfect moment to strike, giving allies a lethal edge for a few seconds.

Put in game terms, this archetype forgoes their normal studied combat ability and studied strike to grant buffs to allies, as well as granting a similar studied strike to all allies. Essentially, your strategy will be buff the defenses of allies and yourself while wearing down the studied foe until the perfect moment to finish it off together, which admittedly takes some setting up. With that in mind, I’d recommend defensive extracts and discoveries to help bolster allies and prepare for the finishing blow.

 The name choice of the archetype and the flavor text leans heavily into the “brilliant scholar, considered foolish, mad, or just eccentric by their peers”. However, there is also an element of the passionate biologist, the person who wants to show the world how wonderful and interesting these creatures are, while dispelling falsehoods against them. So yes, there’s definitely room for taking inspiration from Steve Irwin and the like.

  Due to their nature as guardians of fate, norns do not typically allow mortals to approach unless they have need of guidance on some great destiny. That isn’t stopping the fey anthropologist Mixi Tallfellow from trying to secure an interview. Ironically, the fey will allow this, but only because the party’s destiny is so interesting.

 The party happens upon an owlbear tearing into an overturned cart. When they attempt to intervene, a voice from under the wagon asks that the beast not be harmed. If they comply, the wiry old man thanks them for the rescue, and hands them a copy of a monster almanac he has been working on.

 Adventurous and endlessly curious, Alvad, musetouched elven aasimar, has documented the many strange beasts that live in Brennivale for half a century. However, a strange plague has come to the heart of the forest, something that even they have never seen before.

[dailycharacteroption]

Toxicologist (Druid Archetype)

 In nature, venom and poison are both used as a hunting tool, and as a deterrent. Such organisms, both plant and animal alike, are brightly colored with recognizable patterns, making it very clear that the toxic creatures is more trouble than it is worth.

While defending nature, some druids seek to emulate such envenomed creatures. They channel poisonous magic to punish invaders, and when necessary, stealthily infiltrate civilization to deal with problem targets themselves.

The name toxicologist may imply science, and indeed, many may study the intricacies of such substances, but the most important thing to remember is the danger of angering or threatening these mystics or the regions they protect.

 Though unable to spontaneously summon creatures to their aid, these druids add a handful of poison-related spells not already available to druids to their arsenal.

Practiced as they are in the art of poisoning, they cannot poison themselves or their animal companion when applying their poison to weapons or to claws.

These mystics are especially skilled with poison spells, such magics becoming even harder to resist.

Rather than turn into plants or elementals, these toxicologists learn to transform into various vermin, making use of their venom.

If you’re interested in exploring the use of poison, but also want to play a full casting class, this archetype might be useful in that regard. Keep in mind that you lose out on spontaneous summoning, so you’ll have to pick your spells more carefully and rely on your allies and/or companion for protection. If you choose to go with a companion, I’d recommend a more defensive one or one that also sports poison too, fitting the theme. I can see both agile combatant builds, favoring mobile forms with strong venom, and a spellcasting build that envenoms foes from afar with poisoned projectles and spells as viable options.

 Most druids favor clothing colors associated with the terrain they come from. Greens and browns, or even brighter tans for open planes and deserts. However, these druids might instead favor the bright colors and patterns present in many venomous or poisonous creatures, only eschewing said colors when the time comes to strike from stealth.

  The goatherds of Pollog Pass live in relative peace and harmony, but there are certain parts of the mountain that they do not go, for fear of the massive crevasse spiders and the venom-bladed druid that guides them.

 As abused creations, it’s no surprise that the Honeytree wyrwoods are mistrustful of outsiders, their enclaves protected from the depredations of invaders by their druids and the giant bees they have befriended.

 The sacred symbol of the Emruda Sultanate is the emperor cobra, and daring members of the family have raised and trained them in the past. Of particular note was Pasha Emruda Shavit, who not only raised the mighty serpents, but also learned the druidic arts to transform into one as well.

[dailycharacteroption]

Urban Infiltrator (Inquisitor Archetype)

 Taking a break from archetypes of urban versions of classes, we have yet another form of inquisitor that specializes in hiding their presence. However, rather than specifically hide from their enemies, they instead hide within the city itself, be it of the ordinary sort or even hostile territory.

Urban Infiltrators are most likely either gods of civilization or at least those that are commonly worshiped in such areas, due to their familiarity with them, and that sort of street smarts can be the difference between undermining foes, or being caught by them.

 As one might suspect, these inquisitors are much more socially adept than others, and are quite skilled at hiding their identity and asking the right questions.

Later on, they also gain the ability to change their appearance at will, appearing as anyone they like.

A simple archetype, if you want to build a more skill-focused inquisitor that specializes in gathering info, this archetype could be for you. You’ll probably want to build around complementing those abilities, blessing their stealth and information-gathering so that when they strike, they do so with every advantage on their side.

 While not exactly rogues themselves, I can see this archetype making good use of common criminal underworld tropes to get their way. Informants, spy networks, lips loosened by drink or nocturnal company, and the like.

  Devoted to the Way of the Guarded Mind, Turad has been assigned to discover the truth about the sudden influx of “emotion cults” devoted to exploring the extremes of different feelings. He will find the cults have an origin in experimentation with psychic magic and the psychic entities known as emotion oozes.

 While not officially endorsed by the faith of the sun god, the Sun Lanterns are an inquisition that believe in bringing the light of their deity against their foes through stealth and infiltration, like hiding the flame of a bullseye lantern until the right moment.

 Tengu often live on the fringes of society by default, so it is only natural that they get sucked into criminal affairs. Some, however, find a higher calling, or perhaps it finds them, as their common presence, agility, and charm make them useful for religions in need of good agents. However, there are those that question the morality of conversion for acquisition.

[dailycharacteroption]

Spell Trapper (Magus Archetype)

 In places where arcane magic and the wilds of the world meet, magic inevitably integrates into the daily lives of the locals just as it does in other areas. As a result, such lands are often rife with magical warriors that use placed runes as a hunting aid, infusing magic into location-based traps.

These spell trappers might have little to know formal training, picking up the secrets of spell and steel along the way with their worldly know-how. Others, however, might have received basic training and either quit those studies for practical arts, or otherwise adapted them towards living in the wilds.

Of course, their traps, being able to be laid down anywhere, need not be limited to outdoorsmanship, but also military defense and skirmishes as well. Regardless, these magi are rarely without a trick up their sleeve.

 Focused as they are on their magical traps, these warriors have difficulty masterin more advanced arcana, but they can learn a variety of magical traps in their place.

Indeed, as long as they have a spell component pouch, they can sacrifice spell energy in order to imbue a location with such a magical trap, though they diminish in potency the longer they lay untriggered.

At later levels, they can even channel the power at a distance, laying down a rune from a short distance away, though doing so leaves them vulnerable.

A simple archetype that makes use of the ranger trap rules, this archetype is great for setting up ambushes or defensible positions. Their ability to lay down traps at range means that they can even place down traps during combat on turns in which they cannot safely get into the fray. I’d say either pick your spells based on common mainstays, or experiment with oddball spells, since you can sacrifice spells you don’t need to set up the battlefield.

 This class, with it’s combination of martial, magic, and the tricks of a specific ranger archetype, kinda feels like a true jack of all trades in survivalist form, someone who picks up tricks as they find a use for them, rather than mastering a single vocation.

  Blasted by rare mythic chronomancy, the Battlefield Untouched is a forsaken place that no sane person goes, lest they be subjected to the violence of an ancient war, everything from the raging of mage-bred battle beasts to magical traps laid down by skirmishers, still fresh by the way time flows in that place.

 While most have turned to occult traditions and psychic magic, there are still some munavri that remember the arcane path. When they join with patrols fending off the horrors below, they often set explosive arcane runes to blast the hordes of monstrous slave-beasts such beings rule over.

 Undead are not the only things guarding the complex of the dread necromancer Vegsug. Indeed, he also has a blood golem guarding his sanguine laboratory. However, his most insidious traps come from an undead magus under his thrall, a now-nameless skeletal champion with a knack for setting arcane runes in strategic places.

[dailycharacteroption]

Patient Ambusher (Hunter Archetype)

The art of the ambush is key to the success of many predators, and such traps can take on many forms, from the stealthy approach culminating in the sudden attack from cover, to the webs and sticky filaments of many arthropods, to the silent living traps of carnivorous plants.

No matter what exact form they take, inevitably there will be those who seek to emulate them. Such hunters rely on ambush tactics and mechanical and magical traps not only for hunting game but also for all sorts of foes, treating them all as prey.

As such, they universally prefer to draw foes out whenever possible, and many favor companions of a predatory, ambushing nature, such as big cats, mata mata and other ambushing turtles, most other predators, most plant companions, the web tyrant variant of the spider companion, and so on.

Those that choose non-predatory, herbivorous companions, however, are especially tricky, however, and may train such beasts to feign injury to lure foes into their traps.

 Every wary of similar ambushes, these hunters are particularly adept at noticing traps and disabling, even if they are magical in nature.

While they start out with basic snares, they soon move on to other forms of magical and mundane trapmaking, accruing an arsenal of such tricks at their disposal.

Additionally, they learn the art of enchanting their projectiles with the magical version of their traps, launching them afar to strike foes directly or rig a location from a distance.

Interested in a hunter that endeavors to completely control the battlefield? This archetype might be what you’re looking for. Certainly they miss out on teamwork abilities, but the dynamic between them and their companions remains much the same. Consider what animal companion you wish to take and how to use them in accordance with your trap choices, and build both the hunter and companion with stealth in mind, ready to lure in foes and ensnare them. Debuffing and battlefield control are also useful here so that you can guarantee that foes wander into and succumb to your traps.

 While some may view trapsmithing as an underhanded and dishonorable art, patient ambushers woule heartily disagree. After all, what is a well-crafted trap but a demonstration of the builder’s cunning against their foe? Those that have an interest in art might even go as far as to say that a well-made trap is a work of art. Then again, the average trap that one of these hunters makes serves a very different purpose than those built to protect tombs and strongholds.

  The shadowy depths underneath Shendora’s Boardwalk could not ask for a better defender in Helsa. This acrobatic, piscine aasimar spends her time patrolling the supports, looking for infiltrators, monsters, and saboteurs. The idyllkin’s archeron companion is quite adept at luring such foes into the many traps she sets up among the stone and wood pillars above and below the waves.

 Looping back on itself in a circle, the Ring Road is really no road at all, but a structure of stone blocks going quite deep into the soil to prevent the denizen at the center of the ring, a powerful guecubu called Ashfinger from simply earth gliding through. The elven guardians that guard the ring use a mixture of crushing and fire-based traps in the treeline and their animal companions to track its movements when active and force it away from the outer edge or the ring. However, the reason for the undead’s terrible might and tenacity, as well as what foul soul gave rise to it, are a closely guarded secret.

 They say that Gurst Tallowmaker’s bride was kidnapped on her wedding night and taken into the spider-choked woods of Galdus, where her ghost haunts it to this very day. However, she would tell a different story of fleeing an arranged marriage, forming a bond with a massive web-weaver, and turning a stretch of forest into her own personal web and trap-laden forest, patrolling it for bandits and the like.