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Who could ask for more?
Everybody's coming,
Leave your logic at the door.
So I have a fascination with pseudoscience, and I want to create a Pathfinder party with the pseudoscience theme. Now, in our world, there is a distinct difference between real science and pseudoscience, but in the pathfinder world much of what we call pseudoscience is real.
With that, here's what I have so far classes with a pseudoscience theme. Some of them are obvious, others may be more challenging.
The Naturopthic Hedge Witch
Psychic (from Occult Adventures), alternative is the Medium
The Ghost Hunting Spiritualist Investigator
The Alchemist
The Homeopath (water themed sorcerer)
I'd like to find a way to introduce an acupuncturist, focusing on needle weapons. Any ideas?
And throw your thoughts at me! What else can we create? Give me your obvious and esoteric alike!
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I'd like to find a way to introduce an acupuncturist, focusing on needle weapons. Any ideas?
Unchained Rogue, with both the unchained and psychic skill unlocks for heal, and the Dirty Pick thieves’ tools equipment trick from the Dirty Tactics Toolbox. Lockpicks are pretty close to needles.
Dirty Pick (Disable Device 1 rank): You don’t take any
penalties for using a set of thieves’ tools as an improvised
melee weapon. A set of thieves’ tools used as an improvised
weapon deals 1d3 points of piercing damage. Additionally,
when you attempt a dirty trick combat maneuver check to
impose the blinded condition with a set of thieves’ tools,
you don’t provoke an attack of opportunity. Masterwork
thieves’ tools grant a +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls
and combat maneuver checks for these purposes.
I'd like to find a way to introduce an acupuncturist, focusing on needle weapons. Any ideas?
Unchained Rogue, with both the unchained and psychic skill unlocks for heal, and the Dirty Pick thieves’ tools equipment trick from the Dirty Tactics Toolbox. Lockpicks are pretty close to needles.
Dirty Pick (Disable Device 1 rank): You don’t take any
penalties for using a set of thieves’ tools as an improvised
melee weapon. A set of thieves’ tools used as an improvised
weapon deals 1d3 points of piercing damage. Additionally,
when you attempt a dirty trick combat maneuver check to
impose the blinded condition with a set of thieves’ tools,
you don’t provoke an attack of opportunity. Masterwork
thieves’ tools grant a +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls
and combat maneuver checks for these purposes.
OMG, yes.
Try the harrowed bloodline sorcerer. The power of the not-Tarot, man!
Edit: Actually, there 's a lot of relevant sorcerer stuff. Faith healers via the Razmiran Priest archetype, the impossible bloodline for believers in machine intelligence and the singularity ... Just for variety I'd look at kineticist (water) rather than a water themed sorcerer.
Oh! tarot harrow decks! I forgot about those!
Cartomancer witch archetype - they throw Harrow Deck cards as weapons!
Phrenologist Bard archetype is also added to the list.
Ley Line Witch.
Exorcist inquisitor (who even has an ability called "closed minded!")
Witch Hunter Inquisitor.
...
I'd like to find a way to introduce an acupuncturist, focusing on needle weapons. Any ideas?...
Far strike monk using bo style shuriken. Or a bolt-ace? Even a Swasbuckler, a needle is a "light or one handed piercing weapon" after all.
I'm not sure the Alchemist quite fits - they may be a bit mad-scientist flavored but Dr Jekyll was a meant to be a real doctor/scientist, after all. Their Alchemy may be fantastical but it's still more real-science-like than the rest.
In science history, alchemy was the precursor to chemistry, and followed the four (or five) element theory, which places it in pseudoscience. Depending on the era and the alchemist, you could even have more lenient a that were actually true (like lead, gold, and mercury as elements). In addition, alchemists who believed in the philosophers stone (ability to turn lead into gold easily) would be pseudoscientists by today's standards.
But yes, back then, alchemists were often decent scientists - just limited by knowledge and technology.
It sounds like you really want to play a Son (or Daughter) of Ether.
Thanks for the link! Looks like they were technomancers, and pathfinder does have technomancer-themed classes with the technology guide.
Ok, what about something with a chakra focus (7 chakras of Hindu mythology).
Or astrology?
What else have we got?
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I'd like to see a necromancer based off of Victor Frankenstein or Herbert West. Probably wizard or alchemist. Possibly summoner with the eidolon refluffed as a flesh golem.
I don't know how "psuedoscientific" that counts as, since I don't think reanimation was ever really a "scientific field" but both of those stories presented their protagonists as scientists.
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I'd like to see a necromancer based off of Victor Frankenstein or Herbert West.
The Reanimator alchemist is directly inspired by Herbert West.
Occult Adventures to the rescue again! With new chakra rules available only for classes with a ki pool, like the monk or the rogue (with a rogue talent).
I've also been trying to think of some bullshido techniques that can translate into pathfinder. For those that don't know, bullshido is the colloquial name given to b~$*~!+* martial arts, such as the stunning fist without contact or the five finger death punch (aka a series of single finger strikes that can render a person paralyzed or even dead!). Now, the monk is really cool and I don't want to go into ki, qi, or chi and whether or not it's real, but I would like to figure or a way for a non-monk class to try to encompass the bullshido techniques. Like that one "master" who claims he can knock someone out with a touch-less attack. Similar to a sorcerer using the false priest archetype (also, a false priest going the route of a miracle healer!).
Occult Adventures makes this easy. :/
It's a Golarion specific conspiracy involving the Apsis Consortium.
An excuse to play a character with sacred geometry without the GM wanting to kill you. Give it to a stargazer oracle to make an astrologist who needs to spend a moment working out how the current configuration of the stars and planets can help him.
An excuse to play a character with sacred geometry without the GM wanting to kill you. Give it to a stargazer oracle to make an astrologist who needs to spend a moment working out how the current configuration of the stars and planets can help him.
Astrology and Numerology often go hand in hand; that's a a great idea!
So a friend reminded me that that's a such thing as crank magnetism. This is the phenomenon where a person who believes in one pseudoscience is likely to believe in other pseudosciences, even if they are contradictory.
With that in mind, how many of these ideas can we combine into a single character while still making that character viable? Or not viable. Doesn't really matter. It'll still be one hell of a character to play.
Ok. I think I've got a really bad build.
Spirit Ranger 2, Investogator 3, Medium 1, Cartomancer Witch 3.
Level 9 character.
I've covered:
Animism (ranger archetype)
Cryptozoology (ranger favored enemy: cryptids)
Alchemy (Investogator)
Martial arts woo (ki pool via Investogator talent)
Detox crankery (Investogator poison use)
Acupuncture (Pin point poisoner & equipment trick feat with lock picks)
Spiritualism and ghost hunting/speaking with dead (medium class)
Chakras (medium class & ki pool)
Astrology (taking an astrological trait from occult mysteries book)
Tarot Card Reading (Cartomancer witch)
Witchcraft (witch class)
Homeopathy (witch patron: water)
Numerology (sacred geometry feat)
And taking one level in Medium (or another occult class) opens up the Occult Skill Unlocks, so I have the following covered with skills:
Phrenology (know arcana)
Reading Auras (perception)
Dowsing (Survival)
Faith Heaing (Heal)
Hypnotism (Diplomacy)
Reading psychic impressions left on objects (Appraise)
I can also make a claim for Ley Lines simply by using the occult rules for it. There's no special ability or class you have to take to use them. You just need to have detect magic and the ability to cast a spell or SLA. Alternatively, I could add two levels of Menhir Savant (Druid) and actually have an ability that keys in with Ley Lines. Grabbing the Druid also picks up the druidry/religious thing that some want to claim as pseudoscience. Could also have the religion aspect covered by the witch.
How are you getting a ki pool through Investigator?
I thought you could grab it via rogue talent with Investogator talten. Damn.
I see now. I thought I had missed some archetype or feat that allowed it.
By the way, bookrat, I love this thread topic. :)
Thanks! This idea has kept me amused for days now.
So I need a ki pool to access chakras. Is there any other way to get a ki pool other than rogue, ninja, or monk?
Unfortunately, both those archetype are level 7 to get a ki pool, and that feat only lets you use ki towards the feat's benefits only. :(
So 2 levels of ninja would work and give me poison use for the pin point poisoner feat. Then we'll need something for the alchemy. Besides - you know - the obvious? Or the cheap way out: craft alchemy.
I really liked the underground chemist rogue (does that work with unchained?), but then I'd need to find poison use elsewhere. Maybe hit up the toxitician mesmerist (instead of the medium) and find another way to speak with the dead. Perhaps just a spell from the witch!
Four levels in Esoteric Magus gets you this:
Ki Arcana (Su): At 4th level, an esoteric’s arcane pool is also considered a ki pool for the purposes of meeting feat and ability requirements. Points from an esoteric’s arcane pool can be used for abilities that normally require ki.
And now that you pointed me to the Chakras section I think I finally see how this ability can be useful.
Surprisingly, the toxitician doesn't get poison use. They get an entirely new mechanic that emulates poisons with their own psychic abilities. Cool! Unfortunately it removes pinpoint poisoner.
Gisher - that may be a very vauable option.
Surprisingly, the toxitician doesn't get poison use. They get an entirely new mechanic that emulates poisons with their own psychic abilities. Cool! Unfortunately it removes pinpoint poisoner.
Gisher - that may be a very vauable option.
Since the Esoteric Magus isn't a psychic caster, they would normally need to take the Psychic Sensitivity feat to use Chakras and Occult Skill Unlocks, but your single level in Medium should remove the need to take it.
We need four levels of magus, right? Can we replace any of the other classes and keep the concepts? The fewer classes the better. Or at least synergistic classes.
Then again, completely incompatible classes fits right along with the theme, too!
Edit: Ooo! The esoteric magus gets improved unarmed strike! We can trade out the ranger and find a different way to focus on cryptozoology and animism (or ditch animism for another woo).
Menhir Savant Druid gives us the Ley line aspect and the seeing the dead (incorporeal creatures, undead, etc). 2 levels.
With that and the psychic sensitivity feat, would could drop the ranger and the medium.
We lose animism and cryptozoology, but really the Druid can claim both of those, too.
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For tarot cards, you don't actually need an archetype or a class, you just need to take the Harrowed feat and you can then do Harrow readings.
If you've got room in the build for a feat, you can then switch Cartomancer to vanilla witch and get your familiar back for the cryptozoology and animism without losing any of the other fields Witch gives you.
True, but there's something to be said for throwing the cards as weapons and touch spells. :)
Oh! And the Ley Line Guardian Witch Archetype ties us into Ley lines and stacks with cartomancer.
Edit: I think I like your suggestion, Saturn. It can work great for crypto, just need a familiar that fits with the theme. But animism isn't what it sounds like. Animism is the belief that everything has a spirit - animals, rocks, trees, the sky, etc... Which, come to think of it, may actually fit right in with the witch anyways due to all the patron options.
And I just realized: choosing the water patron also ties us into water woo!
Alright, a new take at a build incorporating everyone's ideas.
Trait: Harrow’s Chosen
Trait: Astrology
Human Feat: Harrowed
1st Level Feat: Two-Weapon Fighting
1: Esoteric Magus 1 (gain Improved Unarmed Strike)
2: Veneficus Ley Line Witch 1 (gain familiar, water patron)
3: Veneficus Ley Line Witch 2 (gain poison use)
- Feat: Adder Strike
4: Esoteric Magus 2
5: Esoteric Magus 3
- Feat: Sacred Geometry
6: Esoteric Magus 4 (gain ki pool)
7: ???
- Feat: Pinpoint Poisoner
This gives us:
Animism - ???
Cryptozoology - some weird familiar for the witch
Alchemy - craft alchemy skill (need 6 ranks anyways)
Martial arts woo - ki pool from Esoteric Magus
Detox crankery - poison use class feature from Veneficus Witch
Acupuncture - pinpoint poisoner
Spiritualism - ???
Chakra - ki pool from esoteric magus
Astrology - trait
Tarot card - Harrow trait
Witchcraft/wiccan/Religion - Witch class
Homeopathy - water patron (witch) & healing
Water woo - water patron (witch)
Numerology - sacred geometry (requires int 13, know engineering 2)
Naturopathy - ???
Ley Lines - Ley Line Witch
If I pick up a druid class in that level 7 slot, it will fill in those questionable pseudosciences.
Since an Esoteric Magus gets Spell Combat and Unarmed Spellstrike at 1st level, they already have the functional equivalent of the Two Weapon Fighting feat if they use S.C. to cast a touch spell. (There's always Arcane Strike if they run low on Shocking Grasp or Frostbite.) And since S.C. can't be used with TWF (unless you are a Mindblade), you might be able to find a better use for that first feat slot.
Rime Spell or Enforcer can work well with an Esoteric, though they aren't particularly pseudo-sciencey. The Chakra feat line might be in line with the theme.
Edit:
You could take the Elongated Cranium feat at 1st level to add phrenology to the list of woo.
You could take the Xenoglossy feat starting at 3rd level. It is also known as glossolalia or "speaking in tongues." That's another form of woo.