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Casts raise thread.

I'll be running Iron Gods in the near future, and one of my players was interested in playing an engineer-type class. Since the Technology Guide has come out in the 5 years since this thread was made, I've jury-rigged my own version of the engineer, using hida_jiremi's version as a starting point. This version is much more sci-fi than steampunk. I've also replaced the death ray ability with some gunslinger stuff, since the character will be able to find/build advanced weaponry in this adventure path.

The Engineer (Alchemist Archetype)

Not all alchemists are masters of chemistry and biology. Some prefer to focus their mad talents on the mysteries of mechanical engineering.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Engineers gain proficiency in firearms, as well as advanced technology firearms.

Class Skills: An engineer adds Knowledge (engineering) to his list of class skills and removes Knowledge (nature) and Use Magic Device from his list of class skills.

Technologist: An engineer gains Technologist as a bonus feat. This replaces Brew Potion.

Engineering (Su): Engineers are not only masters of creating mundane machines such as repeating crossbows, clockwork toys, and mechanical traps, but also of fashioning non-magical devices that can store spell effects. An engineer prepares devices instead of the alchemist's extracts by building small, single-use devices instead of the alchemist's usual method of drinking a vial of liquid. Unlike extracts, devices are not bound to the creator and can be used by anyone. Devices behave like spells, but their effects are unaffected by effects like dispel magic. An engineer's devices otherwise function identically to an alchemist's extracts.
Creating devices consumes raw materials, but the cost of these materials is insignificant—comparable to the valueless material components of most spells. An engineer can easily replenish his materials through scavenging and by cannibalizing his previously-used devices. If a spell normally has a costly material component, that component is expended during the use of that particular device, not during its initial creation.
When using Knowledge (engineering) or the Craft skill to create a clockwork or technological item, the engineer gains a competence bonus equal to his class level on the skill check.
This ability replaces Alchemy.

Packing Heat (Ex): The engineer gains both the Amateur Gunslinger and Gunsmithing feats as bonus feats. He also gains a battered gun identical to the one gained by the gunslinger.
This ability replaces the Throw Anything and Bomb abilities, and the engineer cannot select any discovery that would affect or modify that class ability.

Discoveries: The engineer can select Grit feats or Rapid Reload in place of an alchemist discovery.

Mutagen (Ex): An engineer's mutagens function identically to an alchemist's, but is based on chemistry and nanotechnology instead of alchemy, and thus is an extraordinary ability instead of a supernatural one. The reason an engineer's mutagens only work for him is because the nanites in the fluid are specifically programmed to modify his own biology.

Trapfinding (Ex): An engineer is a master of clockwork machines and technological devices. An engineer adds 1/2 his level to Perception skill checks made to locate traps and to Disable Device skill checks (minimum +1). An engineer can use Disable Device to disarm magic traps.
This ability replaces Poison Use, Poison Resistance, and Swift Poisoning.

Swift Engineering (Ex): Beginning at 3rd level, when an engineer creates mechanical or technological items of any sort, it takes him only half the normal amount of time.
This ability replaces Swift Alchemy.

Instant Engineering (Ex): At 18th level, the engineer can create mechanical or technological items with almost supernatural speed, and none can match his proficiency at fixing or breaking machines. He can create any such items as a full-round action if he succeeds at the Craft check and has the appropriate resources at hand to fund the creation. Additionally, he can perform any Disable Device check that would normally take up to a minute as a swift action.
This ability replaces Instant Alchemy.

Grand Discovery (Su): The engineer does not gain access to the poison touch grand discovery, though he can still utilize the others normally. The following additional grand discoveries are available to an engineer:

Artificial Heart: The engineer removes his own still-beating heart and replaces it with an artificial one of his own design. The engineer gains a +4 untyped bonus to Constitution, and his age limits at each age category are doubled. Because of his mechanical heart, he gains vulnerability to electricity.

Ghost in the Machine: The engineer uploads his consciousness and soul into a computer, essentially becoming an artificial intelligence. The engineer's body is no longer needed, as he now exists only as data. The engineer can transfer his mind into the body of a construct with the robot subtype, existing as an AI aggregate (see the Technology Guide).

Here's my take on Xanthir Vang. I added a new room to the Ivory Sanctum to account for the fact that the two existing summoning circles are in tiny rooms. It would be impossible for him to have summoned Huge retrievers in either of those rooms.
When alerted to the PCs presence, he calls the four blackfire adepts from Q15 and they head into the new room I added. There, they help him cast planar binding to summon a glabrezu. Once this begins, the PCs have 10 minutes to clear out the rest of the sanctum, or they have to face another glabrezu when they encounter Xanthir.

Slightly Modified Ivory Sanctum Map.

Modified Xanthir Vang.

I rearranged Xanthir's prepared spells and feats slightly to make him a bit more effective. He now has the Mythic Spell Lore feat so he has 8 mythic spells instead of 4. It came at the expense of a few of his hit points, but I doubt they would have made a huge difference once a mythic champion got their hands on him anyway, DR 15/- or not.

That's why I also completely rewrote his tactics. He no longer opens up with disintegrate against the most heavily armored target. That's... suboptimal to say the least, especially since that's the paladin in my group. Instead, he hides behind his mythic globe of invulnerability and mythic wall of force while summoning things. The globe should make him immune to virtually any spell the PCs can throw at him, as long as he stays inside of it.

I also gave him an ability called Blackfire Prodigy. All it does is bump his caster level up from 11th to 12th by giving him full spellcasting progression for the first level of the prestige class (doesn't affect later levels, if you decide to advance him). I wanted him to have a couple of extra 5th and 6th level spells without having to monkey around with adding another level to him.

The newly expanded Q18A is large enough to accomodate Xanthir's retrievers, his four blackfire adepts, and anything he wants to summon (like the mythic conjure black pudding spell I gave him). I think it will make for a much more challenging encounter than the tiny room he's normally in.

I'm Sword of Valor it's noted Aponavicius has three pets she subjected to the Nyhandrian Elixir, but only the chimera survived. But since there's a dragon shortage at my gaming table, her pet red dragon will have survived as well, and thanks to those awesome mythic dragon stats, will be a fight to remember.

On a very odd side note: I put a short sidetrek in after Worldwound Incursion, where they had to kill a demon-infested dragon, since one of my players said he thought dragons were cool. Long story short, at my table of gaming veterans, none of the PCs had ever fought a dragon.

Although I haven't run the encounter with the Woundwyrm yet, I've decided to replace her with Aponavicius' pet red dragon who was brought back to life with raise dead. I kept Scorizscar as the dragon's name.

I used the mythic red dragon as a base, but tweaked to taste here and there. Hopefully all the numbers are accurate. I gave her 3 negative levels, which I think amounts to a -1 CR. This brings her down to CR 16, which is close to the Woundwyrm's CR 15.

Scorizscar as a mythic adult red dragon. I tried to use a similar format as Sc8rpi8n_mjd, but some of it got borked when I uploaded it.

EDIT: I should note that I'm particularly unforgiving when it comes to dragons. My players know that I don't pull any punches with them. I'm a lot more forgiving when it comes to everything else, but I had too many bad experiences in 2nd Edition with pushover pansy dragons. :)

My wife was inspired to draw this picture after she read the encounter with Iomedae in Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth. Like some others here on the forum, she thought Iomedae's interaction with the PCs was a bit out of character for her and ran with that idea :)

Warning: her gallery has some potentially NSFW images, but this image is fine. So, don't visit her gallery if that's a concern.

Her Deviantart Page.

And here's the city of Drezen once it's been cleaned up and some of the ruined buildings have been rebuilt.
Again, some assumptions had to be made, some roads redrawn, and in some cases entire city blocks replaced. 75 years without upkeep will really take its toll on a town.

Awesome work!

Do you perhaps have a map of the original citadel without all the rubble and with no evidence of the stairs down, like the map that Aron Kir should grant the heroes with before their entrance?

That would be really helpful, as I don't have your skills with editing images.
Thanks!

Sure, no problem. Probably should have made this version to begin with, come to think of it.

Here is the unmodified citadel, as it exists on Aron's map and before its fall 75 years ago. Note that I had to make some assumptions on where some walls and doors should be, and it may not reflect exactly what Paizo's cartographer intended. This is especially true of the tower's second floor, which had to be totally rebuilt.

This post contains spoilers if you look at the maps. Fair warning

When it came time to rebuild Citadel Drezen, my PCs went a little overboard with Knowledge (engineering) checks, make whole and stone shape. They reshaped entire rooms and hallways to suit their needs better.

The citadel's layout is mostly the same, but some minor changes were made for convenience or to fit the things they wanted (or thought should have been there in the first place). One of the major changes is that the entrance to the dungeon no longer requires guards, workers, and servants to walk through the potentially sensitive Planning Room.

I spent a few hours photoshopping their changes, as well as removing all the rubble and repairing damaged areas. I figure this might be helpful for other DM's who need a map of the non-ruined citadel at the beginning of Book 3. Seriously, 75 years and not a single person living there could cast make whole to spruce the place up? Lazy cultists :)