Man I came late to this. Alright, so for my part, I most like archetypes which result in a major change to how the class either plays or presents itself. I have a hard time caring a lot about archetypes which are just minor tweaks to the base class, even if it's a good tweak -- give me things which make me completely rethink how I run this character.
With that in mind, my Top 5:
Alchemist (Vivisectionist) Converts the alchemist from a ranged bomber to a melee sneak-attack/brawler type. Delicious flavor as well.
Paladin (Tortured Crusader) From a Charisma-based leader of men to a Wisdom-faced loner with a dark past. Brilliant from both a mechanical and a thematic level.
Cleric (Cloistered Cleric) This one is more in theory than in practice, but the game could really benefit from a more spell-focused divine caster.
Ranger (Skirmisher) Loses the spells but gets excellent set of tricks. I feel like pure martials should be more viable -- sometimes I don't want to deal with spells!
Druid (Feyspeaker) Makes it possible to make an illusion-focused, charisma-based druid, which is very interesting and not something you expect.
Honorable mentions would be Evangelist Cleric, Virtuous Bravo Paladin, Blight Druid, Lore Warden, Mythos Cultist Cleric, and Archaeologist Bard.
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Evangelist (cleric): The flavor comes right out in the first encounter, and the mechanics are fun and interesting - I had so much fun playing an evangelist focused entirely on buffing.
Blight druid (druid): Great flavor-mechanics connection here. I particularly like the vermin and undead empathy.
Sound striker (bard): A concept I'd love to see implemented better - as it is it's a really back-heavy archetype. It's fun when that comes online, though.
Savage barbarian (barbarian): A cool concept that's very common in fiction, but poor implementation (I think it should have better DR for losing armor, not just dodge bonuses).
Underground chemist (rogue): I like the concept, but I haven't gotten a chance to play one yet.
Diva bard was amazing
Divine Hunter (Paladin)
Titan Mauler (barbarian) more for flavour then design
Saurian Shaman druid
Alley Witch (witch)
1. Drunken Brawler Monk. My favorite archetype out of all of pathfinder. This is such a flavorful and fun option, and you get to breathe fire! If you keep any Monk Archetype, make it this one!
2. True Primitive Barbarian. Not so good, but i love it. Having a character who still uses stone and bone weapons, and can't speak common is very fun to rp.
3. Hurler Barbarian (and other thrown weapon specialists). This is amazing in concept, i had fun designing an ax thrower barbarian. But Paizo...Please fix thrown weapon builds. Don't make them suckier archers, give them more options.
4. Forgemaster Cleric. One of the best ways to create a Smith type of character!
5: Seasoned Commander Fighter. AllRIGHT YOU MAGGOTS! The best way to create a "warlord" in Pathfinder.
Those are my favs. And if you want new ideas...How about a Fighter Archetype who gets Bonuses for constantly switching weapons?
owner - Redcap's Corner, Owner - Redcap's Corner
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As I assume prestige classes are likely getting the axe, I'd make sure that eldritch knight, arcane trickster, and shadowdancer are all included as archetypes, likely for fighter, rogue, and either rogue or bard, respectively. Otherwise, anti-paladin (and preferably other non-LG paladin variants) and crossblooded sorcerer.
I thought about one more.
Thassilonian Sin Magic wizards. Mainly because it screams "Paizo".
(also because it makes "New Thassilonia" a possiblity after Return of Runelords)
Developer
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Flowing Monk, for monk. Dear god flowing monk please. My personal concept of monk has always been the defensive, turn-your-opponents'-power-against-them style, and flowing monk was the first and only time I've really seen that embodied in a d20 game.
Lore Warden, for fighter. I love the flavor, but also it's nice to have a way to put tactics and knowledge into the mechanics of your character when you want to play a battlefield genius or commander-type fighter
Ninja, for rogue. It's listed as an alt class, but it's basically an archetype that just heavily modifies everything. It's got a lot of flavor baked in, and before unchained it was nice that there was a combat-heavy option to go alongside the skill-heavy one.
Saurian Shaman, for druid. It's a dinosaur druid. Everyone loves dinosaurs.
I don't know if it counts as an archetype, but I really really love the Void school for wizards. It's got great flavor and excellent utility built in.
If void school doesn't count, put me down for Hospitaler for paladin. It changed up the focus for the class and allowed for a healer who wasn't a primary spellcaster, which is pretty unique, I'd say.
Hmm. Difficult to pick only 5 but here's my attempt:
1. Ninja (rogue archtype). It would be nice to have variations available for it but the flavour is awesome and have always preferred it over the rogue since it came out. Especially the use of invisible blade.
2. Fighter Brawler. Very fun to play with spikes and worm your way in close to any casters with the menacing stance.
3. Zen Archer Monk. The bow monk here has always been amazing. This one I could just as easily see being made an archtype of the fighter with some mods to it however. The access to the feats (taxes?) and the image of an acrobat monk rocking out arrows made this my second character to every play. Loved it ever since.
4. Kraken Caller Druid. Mainly for water based campaigns. The concept is awesome. Not sure how well it actually works.
5. Bard Archeologist. Really enjoyed playing a bard that could fill in for the rogue on the trap side of things. I combined it with a helpful halfling build and it was a lot of fun.
From core my top 5 will be
Spell Sage (Wizard): I have always liked the Sage concept, someone with access to all spells, I just hope if reprinted its better worded to allow magic item creation and use of them without issues.
Scrollmaster (Wizard): I just mention this because Improved Scroll Casting is that awesome, the other abilities are not.
Tattooed Sorcerer (Sorcerer): I like Sorcerers, I like Varisia, and I like tattoos, so what is not to love about this one.
Razmiran Priest (Sorcerer): The idea of sorcerers pretending to be god's servants, of even gods themselves is awesome, I liked this very much.
Grenadier (Alchemist): Sometimes the Alchemist fells to broad, so I like to be able to give up some abilities that doesn't match the concept I have in mind for others that enhanced it, in this case throwing bombs.
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Fighter (brawler) - My favorite fighter archetype, good damage in close and able to screw up a spellcaster, but in general the archetypes that focus on one style of fighting (archer, cad, armor master) are fun to play.
Monk (sensei) - I always liked the idea of a non-spellcaster in more of a support role with improved aid another and such. This also applies to an order of the dragon cavalier, but that's not a base class, or an archetype. Playing the sensei always felt like I had something I could do, even if I wasn't doing much damage.
Cleric (channeler of the unknown) - I feel like all of the ex-class archetypes should be in the core book, but this one in particular is fun for me flavor wise.
Bard (thundercaller) - I love the sound burst spell in the first place, making it cost just a round of performance and improve the damage? maybe OP, but certainly fun. Flavor wise it's a bit dry though.
Wizard (thassilonian specialist) - Rigid requirements on opposed schools for extra spells. It made you look ahead at your spell lists, but I really enjoyed playing one of these in a campaign.
Of special mention would be the oracle class in general. If the sorcerer makes it into core alongside the wizard, I feel that the oracle should make it in alongside the cleric. The flavor of a person cursed with power instead of praying for it, on top of the variety introduced by mysteries & curses made the oracle my absolute favorite class to play in the game.
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Core + Alchemist Top 5 archetypes, relevant to options I want in PF2:
- Alchemist: Vivisectionist (or anything else that replaces bombs as a class feature). I struggle with the steampunky flavor of bombs for certain campaigns, so giving a variant that offers a different form of attack is key for me. I want to be clear I'm fine with the base class having bombs--I know many others like it--I just want an alternative to them.
- Bard: Arcane Duelist. A great buffing, support melee character, with a lot of great flavor. They aren't necessarily the biggest damage dealers but they hold their own and do a great job supporting the other meleers in the party and at harrying spellcasters, which is fun.
- Bard: Archeologist. Highly thematic and the best jack-of-all trades I've played in Pathfinder, period. They are a cool bard/rogue hybrid that yet doesn't step on the rogue's toes (this statement is based on having played one in a campaign that also had a well-built rogue in it).
- Druid: Urban. This archetype is suited well for a wider variety of campaigns and it's easier to come up with concepts of an urban druid who is going to want to work with a team than some other druid concepts. It's also a well-balanced archetype that grants some good tradeoffs, even with the cost of not getting wild-shape until later (and having a less wild-shaped focused druid as an OPTION is also nice).
- Monk: Martial Artist (or other more unarmed fighting based monks). From my sense gleaned from many, many discussions, what many players WANT in the monk (not necessarily myself) is an unarmed badass, and then complain when they're handed a defense-based, "only"-decent-at-fighting non-spellcasting mystic. Honestly, I am so goddamned tired of monk arguments I never want to see the word "monk" in a roleplaying game again, and really think it would be--excepting the outcry of those who hate to see the slaughter of sacred cows--in the game's best interests to remove the monk entirely and replace it with the brawler (and then make a monk-type build an archetype of brawler). BUT since that's not happening, please be sure there is a version of the monk that can be a good unarmed badass (fighter archetypes/unarmed builds are also welcome). I also like this archetype in particular because it replaces ki points and I hate tracking points costs related to character ability uses.
An unasked for comment: I love the rogue class (especially the unchained version), but seldom pick rogue archetypes because they almost always either replace uncanny dodge or trapfinding, two abilities I seldom want to give up in my rogues and/or often the tradeoffs are not worth it. E.g., I want to like Knife Master (yes to dagger-focused-rogue) but the ability that replaces trapfinding is extremely limited use and not worth the tradeoff. I hope PF2 rogue archetypes will include other ability replacement options.
(Edited because I can't count)
I care highly for archetypes that remove spellcasting from non-high caster classes. I don't always feel like playing a semi-spellcaster, and it makes the classes a lot more multi-class friendly. So please include one for each partial caster! (Also, can we get one of those for bards please)
My favourite would be:
Ranger: Ilsurian Archer, which is setting specific but the early access to bullseye shot is just a lot of fun.
Paladin: Tempered Champion, more fight in my paladin instead of spells.
Other than those, I like archetypes that significantly change the playstyle, open up another possible playstyle for that class, or open up new interesting multi-class possiblities.
Rogue: Scout, for it invites you to play a mobile and even charging rogue instead of your typical backstabby rogue, despite being a simple archetype. Mix with barbarian/fighter/slayer for extra fun?
Monk: Zen Archer, a big change from the default monk and suddenly you're an archer.
Alchemist: Vivisectionist, where rogue meets alchemist for an interesting dastardly variaty.
- Vivisectionist (Alchemist): not everyone wants to lob bombs, and the mad scientist vibe can work just as well with a "doctor" feel to it.
- Evangelist (Cleric): for me, a big issue with the cleric was that despite it being a great miracleworker, it´s actually pretty bad at being a preacher. The evangelist helped at least somewhat and made the cleric a good inspirational figure.
- Tie between Freebooter & Guide (Ranger): I like the ranger, but I also like the idea of twisting the favored enemy feature into something more generalist. These two archetypes do that and I am a big fan of both
- Invulnerable Rager (Barbarian): it gives some of the uncanny instincts of the base class in order to be the toughest, meanest and strongest badass in town, and as a barbarian, that is often exactly what I want.
- Archeologist (Bard): honestly there are several bard archetypes that I am a fan of, but this is probably the most distinct one and this is why it edges my other 2 favourites (the stormcaller and the detective).
I´d also give an honorable mention to the following:
- Daring Champion (Cavalier): my favourite duelist archetype, the only reason it's not on the list is because the cavalier is not one of the Base 11+1
- Zen Archer and Quinggong monk - the former for giving a great new twist to the monk that both changes how it plays and retains some of the theme, and
- Toss-up between the consigliere and knife master rogues, for being good variant "spins" of the rogue core archetype.
I like agile characters, so stuff like Enlightened Paladin appeal.
I realize with some shock that, in all the PF games I've played (not run), I've never played a core class. I only know those classes' archetypes through GMing.
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Core classes only.
Treesinger Druid - I love the concept, my only complaint about this is the Elf only limitation. I want to play a druid that takes on the power of plants.
Qinggong Monk / Unchained Monk - I think of the Qinggong as an early draft of the unchained monk, which finished out the a reimagining of the monk as a highly capable unarmed fighter with access to strange ki powers.
Archeologist Bard - The bardic knowledge and skill points of a bard are actually a great fit for an adventuring academic out in the field trying to collect artifacts that should be in a museum! Acheologist luck might be a bit overpowered though.
Ninja Rogue - takes the base rogue and makes it a million times cooler. Who doesn't want to be a ninja?
Shapeshifter Ranger - Love the idea, but what I'm really saying here is I want an archetype for the Ranger that is the Shifter.
Empyreal Knight Paladin - the concept of a Paladin slowly becoming more angelic through good deeds and faith is fantastic.
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The "Enlightened Paladin" is more properly called the "Iroran Paladin". I like that archetype too and would have tried it out had I not gone with the idea of making the character in question a primary spellcaster instead.
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- Divine Paragon Cleric (beeing closer to his deity)
- Armiger Fighter (more Hellknight Archetypes)
- Sacred Servant Paladin (beeing closer to his deity)
- Tortured Crusader Paladin (Spellcasters with different core Attributes are fun, and loosing Detect Evil makes Paladins more thinking)
Others: Spirit Guide Oracle (more oracle options!) and Ravener Hunter Inquisitor (more oracle options!)
1. Vivisectionist Alchemist - While perhaps a bit of a cheese option, I really like the idea of an evil/neutral surgeon who uses their knowledge of anatomy to strike precisely with their mutagenic form. Plus cool extras for bonus utility and flavor. I have a scale-heart nicknamed Doc Croc who I wrote I an overly long backstory for, because I just really liked how his abilities and thematics came together.
2.Anything Hellknight - This is a cheat, but I have a major soft spot for those medieval Judge Dreads, especially the order of Godclaw. So the paladin Order against Chaos(I liked having the option to still smite evil), the warpriest and oracle archetypes were both good too. Tho depending on what you do with prestige classes effects these.
3.Sacrament Alchemist - Implemented didn't grab me but the base idea of a divine brewer of potions(or magic booze ;p) or poison, bombs of holy fire etc. Same concept could be achieved by giving alchemy stuff to the cleric too I suppose.
4.Monk of the Four Winds - Is just fun by leaning hard into the mysticism and tweaking the focus a bit towards combat (tho not entirely). Aspect Master is just rife for interesting role play as well as some giving some handy moment options. Also being immortal and invincible (kinda) is nice.
5.Champion of Iori - I like the PrC, the fact the Iroran Paladin can't take it (you need smite as a requirement, which the archetype looses) seemed odd to me. Being wise, charismatic, ok skills and still hit hard against evil doers while wielding and wearing largely nothing, I sounds fun to me (if a little MAD).
Honorable Mentions - a fair few had mentioned these already
Virtuous Bravo - while the Cayden Cailean options for fighter are rad, having a divine duelist is still appealing
zen archer - Brilliant archer while still having a bit of melee power
lore warden - while the advanced training options make it less necessary than before it's still a cool concept
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Organized Play Developer
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1) Bard (Arcane Duelist): Because bards rock and they're even better when they can throw down alongside the people they're buffing.
2) Monk (Tetori): Because I like playing grappler/wrestler type characters.
3) Ranger (Sable Company Marine): Because flying mount rangers roc.
4)Cleric (Crusader): Similar reasons to the arcane duelist.
5) Barbarian (Mooncursed): Because day 1 options for playing lycanthrope-like characters would be awesome
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Oh wow how did I forget the Metamorph Alchemist? Being able to turn into (monstrous) humanoids and giants is so much more interesting to me than being able to turn into animals. Ability to speak! Opposable thumbs!
The RP potential of a humanoid shapeshifter is awesome, and the particular flavour of the archetype I love.
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An unasked for comment: I love the rogue class (especially the unchained version), but seldom pick rogue archetypes because they almost always either replace uncanny dodge or trapfinding, two abilities I seldom want to give up in my rogues and/or often the tradeoffs are not worth it. E.g., I want to like Knife Master (yes to dagger-focused-rogue) but the ability that replaces trapfinding is extremely limited use and not worth the tradeoff. I hope PF2 rogue archetypes will include other ability replacement options.
This, so much this. I love the unchained rogue and ninja, but I never seriously consider archetypes that force me give up trapfinding or uncanny dodge. But I'd happily trade away evasion for a ninja's ki pool.
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Wizard: Scrollmaster
Barbarian: Titan Mauler
Alchemist: Metamorph
Monk: Master of Many Forms
Monk: Drunken Master
With the exception of Master of Many Forms none of these archetypes are too powerful, popular or even well designed. But I love the image of each one of them. Not to mention that both monk archetypes emulate my favorite Jackie Chan movies.
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Mine are concepts rather than the specific archetypes, mostly I think theese are good character concepts that might not be fully supported by the base class.
Savage Barbarian (Or any unarmored Barbarian)
Tactician Fighter
Archaeologist Bard (Or any Bard - Performance Option)
Qinggong Monk and Martial Artist Monk: I think the high fantasy wuxia monk and the low-fantasy pugilist monk should both be supported concepts.
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Monk: Drunken Master - Too many fun ways to use this archetype in play. Was a centerpiece of a few games I ran.
Barbarian: Scarred Rager -I just personally love the idea of a messed up Barbarian who uses their own scared visage as a tool to intimidate and overpower their foes.
Druid: Urban Druid - Why yes, I love talking to rats too.
Bard: Archaeologist - Another favorite for my groups.
Cleric: Roaming Exorcist - A personal favorite of mine to play. Just a selfish choice.
Magus: Kensai - Int based gish fighter that doesn't need armor. How can it not be #1
Rogue: Swashbuckler - A 2h weapon wielding rogue that tumbles better than the rest... yes please. Archetype really should be called Blade Master.
Monk: Sohei - Must flurry with 2 hand weapon
Fighter: Learned Duelist - max damage vital strikes for the win. Maneuverable and so perfect to mix with Style feats
Hunter: Forester - It is like someone knew exactly what I wanted from the Hunter class and gave me an early xmas present.
Alrighty, top 5. Let's see...
1. Pack Mule (Fighter): I think Pack Mules are really cool. I had great success playing a merchant who simply carried all his wares on his back, and tagged along with the adventuring party to find loot to sell. While the new bulk system and the reworking of the skill system make this class unlikely to be needed, it would be nice to eventually get an archetype that would help enable "Solo Merchant" types.
2. NornKith (Monk): I love Fey. Among Fey, I really love Norns. So when the Nornkith came out, I was pleased. The Nornkith has lots of really cool, thematically tied abilities that also happen to be relevant and useful. Even if the Cha to class features was removed, along with their initiative boosting class feature, I'd still appreciate it if P2 got a Fey themed Monk archetype.
(As an aside, I realize that a Time based Monk archetype could also be really cool if done right. As long as their capstone isn't a "You no longer age" ability. I'd much rather punch somebody out of the stream of time.)
3. Sylvan Trickster (Rogue): I've already mentioned my love for Fey, and other posters have already gone over how cool this archetype is, so I'll share something from a campaign I'm running:
Right now, I'm GM'ing a game where my players are traversing Nar-Voth. (It started out as IronFang Invasion, but my players want to conquer the Darklands, for some reason.) In their adventures, they have had problems with Derro Kidnappings and the like. I gave certain Derro 6 levels of Sylvan Trickster, along with the Child scent and Flight Hexes. They aren't the best in combat, but they are really good at kidnapping kids. It's not something I could do with a witch (I don't want them to be casters, plus I don't want them to worry about familiars), and it's also something I couldn't do with a regular rogue. (I mean, I could give them ranks of UMD, but it's a bit more charming when their abilities are baked into their class, without need for equipment.)
4. Sacrament Alchemist (Alchemist): I personally haven't had a good chance to play/use a Sacrement Alchemist, but I fully intend to. The idea of divinely inspired alchemy/science doesn't come up often enough- which is a shame, given the interesting potential. How about an Alchemist of Saranrae, who finds his bombs burn hotter after prayer? Or an Alchemist of Erastil, who keeps her "flock" safe with naturally sourced potions and herbal elixirs? If this Archetype is revisited, It would be cool to see additional, divinely inspired powers.
5. Titan Mauler (Barbarian): Sometimes I just want to wield massive weaponry without taking overwhelming penalties. Part of me wonders if the new proficiency system could let anybody who can get a master status (In the particular weapon) wield such weaponry. If this was the case, perhaps a Titan mauler could, in addition to his weaponry, use the environment as a weapon? I'm not sure if a build in P1 exists to let you use tree trunks and boulders as weapons, let alone use them on or near the same level of effectiveness as a proper weapon.
I liked the idea of the Cleric - Merciful Healer archetype. It's flavor suits me perfectly....but it needs work. It's short on, um, mercies and healing, and has lots'n'lots'n'lots of Destruction and Flamestrike and other things I don't want or need.
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Wizard: Scrollmaster
Barbarian: Titan Mauler
Alchemist: Metamorph
Monk: Master of Many Forms
Monk: Drunken MasterWith the exception of Master of Many Forms none of these archetypes are too powerful, popular or even well designed. But I love the image of each one of them. Not to mention that both monk archetypes emulate my favorite Jackie Chan movies.
Master of Many Styles of course.
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Would be interesting to see the results organized grouping together closely related archetype themes, e.g. caster cleric or druid, melee/mutagen vs bomb/gun/tinker alchemists, deity paladins, magic rogues, etc. Considering distinctions between specific P1E archetypes may be less critical in entirely new game system, the broader themes seem equally important as the precise archetypes themselves, especially at first and given differences in base systems... Even themes which span classes might be revealing or useful somehow.
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Summoner: Studied Summoner
Okay, this is a shameless plug for my own Archetype for the Summoner. Basically I've always loved the "concept" of the Summoner but hated it's implementation. A classing about Summoning that, if played correctly, doesn't actually Summon much. A Spell-Like Ability that, again if played correctly, can't actually be used. Hence why I designed the Studied Summoner. It patches the more annoying features of summoning while introducing new options for it that makes the option of summoning more 'tactical.'
To be fair, there isn't so much a "right" way to play as there is a choice between the eidolon or the spell-like summons. I've played with both stules to great effect. In fact, there's a lot to be gained from a skill monkey eidolon with summon monsters used for combat. To me, removing one or the other feels like you're carving away from the full toolbox.
That aside, I really like that you created an option for like minded people to share in that kind of specialization. The more love this class gets the better.
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Alright, top 5?
Honorable Mention: Guide Ranger: For secretly being the nature themed paladin archetype we always wanted. Seriously, just RP Ranger's Focus as Smite Evil and you're in business.
Top 5 Core Archetypes
1. Elemental Wizard, I love the concept of a wizard specializing in the forces of the elemental planes. Please don't limit the spells, i.e. any spell with a fire descriptor counts as a fire elementalist spell.
2. Arcane Duelist (Bard), a nice bard who can fight.
3. Dawnflower Dervish (bard), a really nice different culture bard
4. Oathbound Paladin, one of the cooler concepts for paladins and taking a specific oath add a lot of flavor to the class.
5. Aldori Fighter, I like the idea of a fighter using something other than a great sword and power attack to solve all problems.
Non-Core
Bladebound Magus, this is my absolute favorite archetype. The closest I can get to playing Elric and Stormbringer.
Sword Devil (Ranger) - It's a great archetype that fills a ranger niche, and yet I haven't ever been able to play due to the source book it is from. I have a lot of different characters with this class, and they currently gather dust! v_v
Martial Artist (Monk) - The non-ki focused Monk is exactly what I want out of any Bruce Lee type of character. And the Exploit Weakness class feature is such a nice replacement for some of the things Monk can do. Had a lot of fun with on of these once.
Metamorph (Alchemist) - It is amazing and yet, in 1st Edition, there are a lot of conflicts in how I wish it worked with how it does due to ruling. Still, I had a great amount of fun playing one when I did, and seeing anything based on shapeshifting makes my day.
Juggler (Bard) - It's so fun and combat-oriented. I am of the mind that any Bard going into combat has to have a gimmick, and the Juggler just provides the most fun looking and innocent one in my mind. The ability to wield more than two weapons due to your juggling performance is awesome in my eyes!
Steelblood (Fighter) - It has amazing flavor, and the sentient weapon is something that I always love to see amongst options. One tied to a character, due to some supernatural bond, is also something I love.
1. Master of Many Styles (Monk)
2. Evangelist (Cleric)
3. Divine Marksman (Ranger, the lack of spells part)
4. Arcane Duelist (Bard)
5. Titan Mauler (Barbarian)
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Hmmm, limiting this to the base classes makes things a bit difficult for me, but here goes:
Ninja (Rogue): I am counting this as a very big archetype. I find the theme of ninja characters to be much more interesting than rogues.
Beastmorph (Alchemist): I had a lot of fun playing one of these. I'm a huge fan of animal shapeshifter themed characters.
Mooncursed (Barbarian): I have never gotten to play one since I often get stuck playing casters, but I have really wanted to try this archetype out.
Scaled-Fist (Monk): I love the idea of this archetype, because I love dragons and the idea of a monk powered by draconic energy rather than normal ki is amazing.
Qinggong (Monk): Another monk archetype, but I viewed this as almost required for making monks with interesting powers.
Non-core:
Synthesist (Summoner): Yes it had balance issues, but I *loved* this archetype just for the sheer flavor of it. I used this to make a character based on Naruto's nine tailed fox 'aura'.
Archaeologist Bard: A great "selfish" option for bards who wanted to stay out of support roles.
Evangelist Cleric: Excellent trade offs and a very strong support option that didn't just make you a better bandaid.
Vanilla Ranger (not technically an archetype but speaks highly when I feel none is needed)
Empiricist Investigator: I feel like this should have been the vanilla it matches the theme so much better than what it replaces.
Beast Rider Cavalier: Again another option I considered more vanilla than the actual vanilla options.
Found one more fun archetype today; The Knight of Coins paladin. Trades some more normal paladin abilities for skills such as locating items, detecting magic, an improved number of skills, and bonuses when buying/selling items.
From core my top 5 will be
Spell Sage (Wizard): I have always liked the Sage concept, someone with access to all spells, I just hope if reprinted its better worded to allow magic item creation and use of them without issues.
Scrollmaster (Wizard): I just mention this because Improved Scroll Casting is that awesome, the other abilities are not.
Tattooed Sorcerer (Sorcerer): I like Sorcerers, I like Varisia, and I like tattoos, so what is not to love about this one.
Razmiran Priest (Sorcerer): The idea of sorcerers pretending to be god's servants, of even gods themselves is awesome, I liked this very much.
Grenadier (Alchemist): Sometimes the Alchemist fells to broad, so I like to be able to give up some abilities that doesn't match the concept I have in mind for others that enhanced it, in this case throwing bombs.
Sorry to break the rules but may I change my last vote from Grenadier to Runesage? I don't know how I could forget about it.
Runesage (Wizard): The ability to change your specialised school is what I would expect from truly universalist Wizard, sadly it took a week do so. Also, I imagine that Xin had this archetype.
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Monk: Master of Many FormsMaster of Many Styles of course.
Nope, I preferred it the way you said it the first time-- a Monk/Shifter hybrid class.