How do I "hear the voices of the dead?"


Advice


Is there currently a way to make a character who can be guided by the voices of the dead toward their killer? In the song "Victorian Vigilante," by Abney Park, the title character claims to do so. I am having a hard time finding a way to do so with the right class. The right class being something along the lines of Inquisitor, Vigilante, Slayer, and URogue. I would greatly appreciate any guidance on how to make such a character. I am open to other classes as long as the Archetype make them fit the theme better. Thank you in advance.


This actually says ancestors mystery, haunted curse oracle to me - the curse and mystery both give the feel of spirits accompanying you as you go, and the ancestor mystery's Voice of the Grave and Wisdom of the Ancestors abilities let those spirits give you guidance. It also provides some good melee buffs to let you get down and dirty in combat, and having an oracle's spellcasting never sucks. The Psychic Searcher archetype lets you grab a few goodies from investigators, which seems appropriate.


Traits wrote:
Possessed: You were, or are, possessed in some way by another entity that grants you occasional access to its knowledge. Once per day, you can attempt a Knowledge check of your choice even if you are not trained in that skill and it is not usually possible to use that skill untrained. If you can normally use that skill untrained, you gain a +2 trait bonus on the check.

Not a big bonus, but a flavorful one in my opinion. And its a trait, so it's available for pretty much everyone.

Silver Crusade Contributor

I believe there's more than one investigator archetype for this; the dread investigator and spiritualist archetypes both come to mind. I'd give those a look and see what you think.

In addition, Pathfinder Player Companion: Haunted Heroes Handbook will be out in a month or two - I wouldn't be surprised if something in there is right for your character. ^_^


A Ghost using the magic jar ability, but not taking control. Ghosts are made for flavor and story. Occult Adventures has some spirits that might do it.


Rennaivx wrote:
This actually says ancestors mystery, haunted curse oracle to me - the curse and mystery both give the feel of spirits accompanying you as you go, and the ancestor mystery's Voice of the Grave and Wisdom of the Ancestors abilities let those spirits give you guidance. It also provides some good melee buffs to let you get down and dirty in combat, and having an oracle's spellcasting never sucks. The Psychic Searcher archetype lets you grab a few goodies from investigators, which seems appropriate.

So far, this comes the closest to what I am thinking. Someone who is guided by the spirits to right wrongs and such. Especially someone who can get actually advice from them. Hopefully I will be able to use the Masked Persona rules from Inner Sea Intrigue.


Ahhh. Just talk it over with the DM and RP it? Done.

This is really more of a story hook than game mechanic.


I feel silly for forgetting this... The Medium from Occult Adventures. Free on the PRD.


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Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Seconding the medium suggestion, probably with the relic channeler archetype if you want to keep the same spirits around all the time.

You can take one of several spirits into yourself each day and get different abilities based on it, so you can pretty much make the class whatever you want. If you're thinking along the lines of slayer/rogue/vigilante, focusing on the trickster or the champion could get you the effect you want (though you can still use the others as needed). I played a medium in a Serpent's Skull game that just wrapped up, and it was a lot of fun.

Maybe your spirits were all killed by the same person and they want vengeance?


It is a story hook thing, not a game mechanic.

Ever see "Stir Of Echoes?" The horror movie with Kevin Bacon? The "voices" are sometimes whispers, but more often visions which give the recipient clues, which he follows to unravel the mystery of what happened to the deceased.

There are many movies and books that use this form of storytelling. But the point is, you can find a class that can "hear spirits" technically, but it's probably not going to give you any mechanic that effectively describes or plays out what is actually happening to your character in a meaningful way.

That's up to you and the GM.

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