Archpaladin Zousha |
As part of my ongoing project to prepare prospective characters for EVERY Adventure Path made by Paizo, I'm designing a character for Mummy's Mask, and almost immediately I knew what I wanted to do:
As I read the Mummy's Mask books, I couldn't help but hear the good ol' Raider's March in my head, and so wanted to create an adventurer-archaeologist in the vein of Indiana Jones. And after reading more about the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye and the obsession Ustalav's aristocracy has with Osirion's mysticism and stuff, I knew where I wanted my character to come from. The concept's pretty clear in my mind: the scion of an impoverished noble family (I've picked the Graydons from Knights of the Inner Sea and made her the daughter of Margrave Cilas Graydon who makes a brief appearance in Carrion Crown's third volume), educated at the prestigious Lepidstadt University in the sciences, Osiriani history and the art of dueling, now spending her family's last coin to travel to Osirion and conduct archaeological studies in earnest.
The hard part is picking a class to play, as there's DOZENS of options for the adventurer-archaeologist, to the point where you could make up an entire PARTY of them! Here's the ones I'm looking at:
- The Alchemist, specifically the Crypt Breaker and/or Grenadier archetypes. Lepidstadt University has a reputation for training fine alchemists, and the Crypt Breaker archetype was developed specifically to deal with Osiriani tombs and their unique hazards. Grenadier gives a free martial weapon proficiency I can use to have access to rapiers, and poison really doesn't help against undead anyway. I am loath to give up Brew Potion, though, so I may just eat the feat tax to take Martial Weapon Proficiency (rapier) and be a regular alchemist.
- The Bard, specifically the Archaeologist, Archivist and/or Silver Balladeer archetypes. You can't get much more "adventurer-archaeologist" than with a class who has "archaeologist" right in the name! And it's pretty solid too, from what I hear. Archivist could make her a bit more studious, which fits well as most of her knowledge of Osirion is second-hand book-learnin', an issue she's trying to rectify. Silver Balladeer doesn't necessarily reflect her TRAINING, but it does have abilities that are useful against the undead and unnatural, of which Mummy's Mask has aplenty. Plus, as I plan on having her worship Pharasma, her work becomes academically AND spiritually fulfilling, studying ancient tombs and helping the unquiet dead within rest properly. Plus, bards get proficiency with rapiers right out of the gate, so I don't have to spend a feat on them.
- The Fighter, specifically the Lore Warden and Ustalavic Duelist archetypes. It's all about flavor here, with the Lore Warden being a prime example of an adventurer-archaeologist and Ustalavic Duelist being specifically trained at Lepidstadt University, referencing the famous "Lepidstadt scar." I'm honestly only mentioning them for the sake of completion, as while they're decent, they're also very limited to combat specialization, where the kind of character I'm looking to build is much more versatile, solving puzzles, charming friend and foe and escaping traps and danger just like Dr. Jones himself.
- The Investigator, specifically the Empiricist and Lepidstadt Inspector archetypes. Investigators have a lot of the same benefits as the Alchemist, in addition to having access to rapiers right out of the gate and not relying entirely on bombs, which is secondary to my desire to be a masterful duelist. Empiricist is really tempting, as my character IS a scientist after a fashion. Lepidstadt Inspector is...interesting. While it DOES reference my character's alma mater directly, it's really more like a detective than an archaeologist. I'm honestly waffling between Alchemist and Investigator most.
- The Occultist. This class is all about history and ties to the past, and it'd be flavorful for my character to have small Osiriani artifacts and trinkets she's procured and keeps for study and as mementos of her digs. They also can use rapiers, which for the purposes of this character, is ALWAYS a plus.
The Shaman |
I am generally a fan of bards for such pursuits, although I admit, investigators and inquisitors (for the divinely adherent) are definitely capable as well. I am a bit surprised that you did not include rangers and slayers among your options - they are quite capable when it comes to getting into - and out of - tricky places, and while not usually tied to the past,some of their skill choices are a good fit for an adventurer of the type you are interested in. Mediums can also be an interesting match for the concept (and quite popular in Ustalav), both the standard type and the relic channeler, which has a similar flavor to an occultist (but works differently).
Archpaladin Zousha |
For those of you who've played MM: how often would I be running into poison? I'm leaning strongly towards Investigator but am wondering if any of the archetypes that give up poison resistance are worth it...