Palantine Detective (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)
(art by AshvarKul on DeviantArt)
The pursuit of truth can lead you to some strange places indeed, and this is especially true with fantasy settings where a murder mystery can quickly turn to occult matters very quickly.
In the Lost Omens setting, the Esoteric Order of the Palantine Eye might borrow a lot of markers from Osirian culture, but they are no mere gentleman’s club appropriating a foreign culture to feel special. Indeed, the Order has a deep fascination with recovering and discovering lost secrets of the cosmos, which is appropriate since their biggest focus has been on the Lost Gospels of Tabris. (You know, Tabris: the angel that personally penned the Chronicles of the Righteous, Concordance of Rivals, and Book of the Damned, the three artifact-level texts that record every aspect of good, evil, and beyond in the entire cosmos, past, present, and future as it is written?)
Like I said, much more than a simple posh exclusive club. They have a vested interest in protecting the world, and many of their members develop mystical powers , be it from following the edicts of the Order and Tabris, or by exposure to the strange relics in their collection, all of which they use to further their investigations.
Indeed, today’s subject is another class archetype for 2e, specifically for the investigator class, granting them mystic abilities to aid in their pursuits. While it doesn’t specifically name names, this archetype clearly draws some inspiration from a variety of First Edition archetypes for investigators that granted various forms of mystic power to help with their investigations.
The result is a detective that is perhaps even more eccentric than your Holmeses and your Columboes, but one that you can rely on when matters get strange and esoteric.
Like other class archetypes, you technically take this one at first level, instead of starting at second, and this manifests in the esoterica methodology that these investigators take instead of a more traditional methodology. With it comes training in the occult, the skill to identify magic items quickly, as well as two cantrips, one occult, one divine.
The actual dedication for the archetype starts with the detective crafting or acquiring a charm of some kind that they wear around their neck, which at the baseline helps soothe and strengthen their mind against mental assault. However, against a foe they have identified, it can also be used to invoke protective magic to soften the blows of such a foe.
As they grow in power, they begin learning a smattering of divine and/or occult spells of the first three ranks.
Many demonstrate an uncanny ability to decipher text and writing, almost as if they are reading the psychic impressions of meaning from the pages rather than translating or decoding the ciphers.
Mystical knowledge comes in handy when possessing spirits are about, and many of these detectives can force the true culprit of certain crimes out of a body they have been using for nefarious purposes.
Supernatural threats tend to come up a lot in the sort of cases these detectives handle, and so they learn minor rituals and techniques to imbue their weapons with spiritual energy, to either strike the intangible or poison the dead with life energies as needed.
Some have a special knack for ritual magic, learning some somewhat rare magical rites in addition to being adept at performing them.
Conviction is a significant percentage of how magic comes into being, especially occult and divine magic, and these adepts have the insight to know just what cutting remarks could cause an occult or divine caster to hesitate and doubt themselves, and in so doing fumble the spell.
All investigators have a knack for analyzing the physical weaknesses of their foes to deal crippling blows, but against spiritual foes, these detectives can also use their knowledge to identify spiritual weaknesses as well, adding even more extra damage against such foes.
More so than other investigators, these individuals are well-suited to dealing with cases involving magical curses, and their investigations tend to turn up subtle clues that help unwravelling said curses, or at least freeing a victim from those on objects.
With a demonstration of occult master, these mystics can open a mystical third eye of flame that lets them see past all magical deceptions, as well as ignore most forms of magical and mundane concealment, their senses passing beyond the capabilities of mortal organs.
Finally, they can further their spellcasting training by developing spells of the fourth, fifth, and sixth rank as well.
This archetype is fun, though again like the munitions master this could have been an expansion to the base class since it doesn’t truly modify anything that isn’t already a modular part of the class. Regardless, this archetype offers a lot of neat investigative, spellcasting, and combat options, making it very good for build that likes whipping fiendish and undead booty, while also remaining competent against mortal foes. I recommend placing plenty of information-gathering spells alongside other fare depending on your build.
There’s plenty of inspiration for players of investigator characters out there in media, how they pick up on subtle details to piece together greater truths. The same can apply here, but can be even more fantastical in nature. Some serious “The Force grows dark around someone with murder on their mind.” Chirrut Imwe stuff, and so on. Feel free to be creative in that regard, though do remember to pepper in some less esoteric evidence as well, depending how the local court in the campaign feels about supernatural evidence.
Slain by dark watery magic, it seems clear that the duke was assassinated by the athamaru ambassador. However, before the fishman can be dragged away, a woman, Dr. Maevana Locumon, steps forward and reveals that the ambassador cannot be the slayer, as the spell was clearly an invention of another aquatic race: the sedacthy, also known as sahuagin.
Though he is by all accounts an ordinary human, Agrin Codasleschi has an insight into matters of the spirit world that rival the very spirits themselves thanks to his long studies into the unknown. All manner of rumors persist about him, but there is no denying that he is the greatest expert on the occult in Obridi.
Six people have been slain in the past week, their necks crushed and burned, and the entire scene reeking of brimstone. A clearly supernatural crime requires supernatural investigation, and the findings are as disturbing as they are uncanny: The killings are not random at all, for a deceased bard has apparently returned from beyond the grave due to a pact with a devil, returning as a unique revenant that burns with hellfire and a vengeance that burns even hotter.
