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The start of this thread isn't about a house rule, rather a rule existing in a couple 3rd-party documents (it is easy to find them if you search "archetype packages" on d20pfsrd.com).
Instead of making archetypes for each and every class (including their own), the authors had the insightful idea of grouping the existing classes' abilities into packages, allowing them to propose archetypes that could be taken by any class. When you select an archetype package to enhance your character, you merely remove one of those you already have. Note that you can then take the same package in accompaniment of several classes, in which case the levels taken in those classes stack when considering the package's abilities.
I want to extend this a little bit more by grouping all class abilities into packages, allowing you to exchange one (or more) from any class for new archetype packages (with the possibility of exchanging more than one such package).
Then, each class can be defined as the total sum of three packages (four for the lucky ones). What follows can be modified by any GM for their own games, of course.
All classes start with a base of 1d8 HD and 3/4 BAB progression, as well as 2 skill points per level and proficiency in simple weapons (which can be rescinded).
All warriors have a special archetype granting them 1d10 HD and full BAB progression, as well as a good Fortitude save and a proficiency with all martial weapons, medium armors, and shields.
All arcane full spellcasters have them reduced to 1d6 HD and 1/2 BAB. All arcane or divine spellcasters (full or intermediate) have a good Will save progression.
Spellcasting in itself is considered as one or two packages, depending on whether you have access to spell level 9 or not. If you have, you are considered as "Full Spellcaster". Otherwise (as is the case for bards, summoners, etc.) you are an "Intermediate Spellcaster". Warriors can't be Full Spellcasters.
- Alchemist:
= Full “Spellcaster” – alchemist
- Grenadier: the bomb ability (including proficiency and advancement), throw anything, and the discoveries gained at 8th and 14th levels. This package also grants proficiency with light armor and a good Reflex save progression.
- Mad Chymist: the mutagen and persistent mutagen abilities, and the discoveries normally gained at 2nd, 6th, 10th, and 18th levels. This package grants a good Fortitude save progression and 2 additional skill points per level.
- Barbarian:
- Warrior: d10 HD (see below), BAB +1 per level, good Fort, proficiency with martial weapons, medium armor, and shields
- Rager: the rage ability (including greater rage, tireless rage, and mighty rage), as well as fast movement and indomitable will.
- Shamanist (requires the Rager package, above): all rage powers (note that this splits GG’s “Berserker” package, but bundling both Rage and 10 powers is a bit much)
- Survivor: uncanny dodge (and improved), trap sense, damage reduction, a Hit Dice increased to the next dice size, and 2 skill points/level.
- Bard:
- Intermediate Spellcaster – arcane (good Will)
- Inspiring Performer: the bardic performance class abilities, a good Ref save, and 2 skill points/level.
- Skilled Lyrist: bardic knowledge, versatile performance, well-versed, lore master, jack of all trades. This package also grants 2 skill points per level, proficiency with the bard weapons (whip, etc.), light armor, and shields, as well as the ability to cast arcane spells in armor.
- Cleric:
= Full Spellcaster – divine (good Will)
- Domain Servant: two domains (with their powers), and one spell slot/level for domain spells (if able to cast spells). If you follow a deity, the domains must belong to those offered by that deity, and you gain a weapon proficiency with the deity’s favored weapon.
- Aligned Piety: the Channel Energy ability and the spontaneous casting of Cure/Inflict spells (if able to cast those spells). Also grants a good Fort save, as well as proficiency with medium armor and shields.
- Cavalier:
- Warrior: d10 HD, BAB +1 per level, good Fort, proficiency with martial weapons, medium armor, and shields
- Knight: the cavalier's order (and subsequent abilities), and the uses of the challenge ability gained at level 1 and 16. And heavy armor.
- Tactician: the “tactician” abilities, the “banner” abilities, and the other uses of “challenge” (levels 4, 7, 10, 13, and 19). +2 skill points/level
- Horseman: the mount, cavalier's charge, expert trainer, mighty charge, and supreme charge.
- Druid:
- Base: good Fort, +2 skill points/level; proficient with some weapons, medium armor and shields (but no metal)
= Full Spellcaster – divine (good Will)
- Beastlord: the spontaneous casting, wild empathy, and wildshape class abilities (including all improvements to wildshape).
- Bonded to Nature: nature bond, nature sense, woodland stride, trackless step, resist nature’s lure, venom immunities, a thousand faces, timeless body.
+ Alternative packages
You can choose to group the druid’s abilities in another way, to form the following packages:
- Animal Spirit: wild shape, wild empathy, nature sense, woodland stride, trackless step, resist nature’s lure, and venom immunity.
- Faceless Nature: nature bond, spontaneous casting of summon nature’s ally, a thousand faces, timeless body.
- Fighter:
- Warrior: d10 HD, BAB +1 per level, good Fort, proficiency with martial weapons, medium armor, and shields
- Battle Master: the bonus feats gained at 1st, 6th, 12th, and 18th levels, bravery, weapon training, and the ability to take feats whose prerequisites include fighter levels (such as Weapon Specialization).
- Defender: proficiency with heavy armor and all shields, armor training, armor mastery, and the bonus feats granted at class levels 4, 10, and 16.
- Weapon Adept: weapon mastery, and the bonus feats gained at levels 2, 8, 14, and 20.
- Gunslinger:
- Warrior: d10 HD, BAB +1 per level, good Fort, proficiency with martial weapons, medium armor, and shields (see below)
- Gun Proficiency: proficiency with all firearms (rescind medium armor and shields), plus Gunsmith, Gun Training, Grit, and True Grit.
- Musketeer Panache: the Nimble ability, and all Deeds (gained at levels 1, 3, 7, 11, 15, and 19), as well as a good Ref save.
- Pistolero Expertise: the bonus feats (gained at levels 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20), as well as 2 skill points/level.
- Inquisitor:
- Base: proficient with medium armor, and shields
- Intermediate Spellcaster – divine (good Will)
- Executioner: the judgment, second judgment, third judgment, and true judgment abilities. Also: good Fort, and 2 skill points/level.
- Magister: the spellcasting. The inquisitor retains the domain ability, with a CL equal to the inquisitor's level. And 2 skill points/level.
- Magus:
- Base: good Fort; proficient with martial weapons and light armor (restrictions with heavier ones)
- Intermediate Spellcaster – arcane (good Will)
- Eldritch Knight: Arcane Pool, all Spell Combat, Spell Strike, proficiency with heavier armors, Fighter training, True Magus.
- Eldritch Connoisseur: all Magus Arcana, Spell Recall (and Improved), all Bonus Feats, Knowledge Pool, Greater Spell Access.
- Monk:
- Ki Master: the flurry of blows and unarmed damage, 2nd-level bonus feat, ki pool (and its uses), wholeness of body, abundant step, and empty body. This package also grants proficiency with monk weapons, and the restrictions upon wearing armor.
- Training of the Body: the bonus feats gained at 1st and 14th levels, stunning fist, evasion (and improved), fast movement, maneuver training, slow fall, high jump, diamond body, quivering palm. Also, this package grants good Fort/Ref saves.
- Training of the Mind: the AC bonus, still mind, diamond soul, timeless body, tongue of the sun and moon, perfect self, and the bonus feats gained at level 6, 10, and 18. Also, this package grants a good Will save and +2 skill points/level.
- Oracle:
- Base: +2 skill points/level; proficient with medium armor, and shields
= Full Spellcaster – divine (good Will)
- Mystic: the Oracle’s Curse and the Mystery (including its class skills, bonus spells, and revelations).
- Paladin:
- Warrior: d10 HD, BAB +1 per level, good Fort, proficiency with martial weapons, medium armor, and shields
- Merciful Avenger: the smite evil, lay on hands, mercy, channel positive energy, and divine bond.
- Divine Guardian: the detect evil and aura of courage class abilities, plus spellcasting and a good Will save.
- Holy Halo: proficiency with heavy armor, divine grace, divine health, the other auras (good, resolve, justice, faith, righteousness), and holy champion
- Ranger:
- Warrior: d10 HD, BAB +1 per level, good Fort, proficiency with martial weapons, medium armor, and shields
- Scout: the favored enemy, combat style feat, favored terrain, hunter's bond class abilities, good Ref, and 2 skill points/level.
- Woodland Spellcaster: the skill Spellcraft as a class skill, two skill points per level, wild empathy, and spellcasting.
- Tracker: Track, Endurance, Woodland Stride, Swift Tracker, Evasion (all), Quarry (all), Camouflage, Hide in Plain Sight, Master Hunter, and 2 skill points/level
- Rogue:
- Sneak: the sneak attack ability and progression, and 2 skill points per level.
- Talented: All Rogue Talents, proficiency in the rogue weapons (hand crossbow, etc), and 2 skill points per level.
- Evader: Trap Sense, Trapfinding, [Improved] Uncanny Dodge, [Improved] Evasion, Master Striker, good Ref, 2 skill points per level, and proficiency with light armor.
- Sorcerer:
= Full Spellcaster – arcane (lower HD to 1d6 and BAB to +1/2 per level; good Will; restrictions on spellcasting when wearing armor)
- Heritage: the sorcerer’s bloodline (including class skill, bonus spells, bonus feats, arcana, and powers), and Eschew Materials.
- Summoner:
- Base: proficient with light armor (restrictions on heavier ones)
- Intermediate Spellcaster – arcane (good Will)
- Otherworldly Ally: the Eidolon, including Life Link, Bond Senses, Shield Ally (and Greater), Maker’s Call, Transposition, Aspect (and Greater), Life Bond, Merge Forms, and Twin Eidolon.
- Ally Gator: the Summon Monster spell-like ability (all occurrences, including Gate).
- Vigilante:
- Base: good Ref/Will, +2 skill points/level (see below); proficient with martial weapons, medium armor, and shields
- Spy: Dual Identity, Seamless Guise, all Appearance abilities, and Vengeance Strike.
- Socialite: all Social talents, and Unshakeable. This package also grants 2 skills points per level.
- Heroism: the Vigilante Specialization, and all Vigilante talents.
- Witch:
= Full Spellcaster – arcane (lower HD to 1d6 and BAB to +1/2 per level; good Will; restrictions on spellcasting when wearing armor)
- Hexen: the witch's hex, major hex and grand hex abilities. Also, the witch’s familiar and patron spells.
- Wizard:
= Full Spellcaster – arcane (lower HD to 1d6 and BAB to +1/2 per level; good Will; restrictions on spellcasting when wearing armor)
- Arcane Master: the arcane bond, and arcane school (including any school ability). Also, Scribe Scroll and the bonus feats. Taking this package reduces your “simple weapons” proficiency to “some weapons only” (see list in the Wizard class description).
You’ll note that three classes are more “powerful” as they are made of 4 packages (Alchemist, Cleric, Druid). Since you gain a higher degree of flexibility with this system, you can’t start with a 4-packages class to regain all 3 from one class, plus one other. If you choose to start with such a class, you can only change 2 of them.VARIANT to the above: determine a power index to each archetype package above, and exchange for archetypes or packages of the corresponding index. If you go further down that (slippery) slope, you'll end up attributing a number of points to each class ability. And another game entirely.
When adding archetypes (or replacing an archetype package with another), the normal rules specify that you can't have two archetypes that intersect at any point of their progression. What use is that when you have only two levels of that class and the intersection is at level fourteen? I postulate that you can add any archetype (or archetype package), with an order of priority between them: upon intersection of powers, you'll get the one defined by that order.
If you are fed up with your choices, you can change your archetypes (and archetype packages) for an amount of money equivalent to half a dozen feats. This is much like retraining feats, in fact, except it lasts longer.
Next post will start the main course with an archetype packages from yours truly. Others will follow, later.
This archetype package grants abilities that makes the character look like a lycanthrope. At the beginning, you gain the following abilities:
* Moon Calling: you are particularly angsty when you see the full moon. As long as you are outside with the full moon visible (lasts 3 nights per moon cycle), you are enraged. You gain +2 to Strength, Constitution, and Wisdom, but -2 to the other ability scores. You don’t have the patience for mental tasks, and take a -5 penalty for skill checks based on mental attributes. In addition, you can’t Take 10 or 20 with any roll.
* Animal Spirit: you can spend a hour-long ritual to choose your inner animal (most lycanthropes choose the wolf). It must be an animal native to the environment in which you conduct the ritual (ask your GM). This kind of animal will be the one you morph into, eventually. You can’t choose megafauna or dinosaurs, nor can you take an animal that has a template, or a magical beast. However, some creatures are not listed as being a regular creature with a template, such as most Dire animals. Check with your GM beforehand.
* Silver Allergy: silver weapons deal 50% more damage on you. Touching silver inflicts 1 point of damage per round.
At level 2, and every two levels afterwards, you can select another ability among the following:
* Damage Resistance: you gain DR 1/silver, a value that increases by 1 for every 3 levels you have.
* Mithridatisation: you have trained yourself to alleviate the harmful effect of silver. Touching silver no longer causes damage, and silver weapons only inflict 1 more damage on you – although they still bypass your DR.
* Fast Healing (level 8+): you gain Fast Healing 1 (regain 1 hit point per round). This doesn’t work on wounds made by silver, unless you have Mithridatisation. Fast Healing stacks, and you can take this ability several times.
* Animal Senses: in your normal form, you gain one benefit among the list offered from the type of animal you chose:
-> Avians: low-light vision, +4 to Perception, or +4 to Fly
-> Land-bound herbivores: low-light vision, scent, or +2 to Initiative
-> Land-bound carnivores: low-light vision, scent, or +1 to attack and damage with unarmed strikes or natural attacks
* Animal Aspect: your face takes some characteristics from your chosen animal, and you gain one of its natural attacks (mostly bite or claws), provided that you have the corresponding limbs (for this purpose, you can consider talons as claws).
* Animal Moves (level 6+): choose one type of movement that your Animal Spirit has (flight, burrow, climb, swim). You gain that type of movement with a speed of 10 feet (and clumsy maneuverability, if you take flight). If you animal doesn’t have a movement type that you don’t have, your speed increases by 10 feet instead. You can take this ability several times to increase the chosen speed by 10 ft (and the maneuverability by one step), although you can’t be faster (or more maneuverable) than your chosen animal.
* Lycanthrope Genes: your bite can infect others with Lycanthropy, and you are yourself immune to this effect from other lycanthropes.
* Half Shape (requires Animal Aspect): you gain the ability to morph into a crossbreed between your original self and your Animal Spirit. Said form stands upright like you do, and has the same size. Fur or feathers sprout on your skin, and your face resembles that of your animal. You gain the animal’s natural attack sequence (except those from your feet) and movement types. You keep your gear, although items held in hands might fall if they become paws. You gain the shapechanger subtype. Transforming into a half-shape is painful and causes you to take 1 point of Constitution damage, except when outside during the full moon. Also, the process takes a whole minute, during which you are helpless (and you provoke attacks of opportunities each round).
* Animal Shape (requires Half Shape): you can morph into your chosen Animal Spirit. This is an at-will ability when outside during the full moon, otherwise you can only do this once per day. You can take this ability several times to gain more uses. For the purpose of evaluating prerequisites only, this ability is like Wild Shape and your druid level is equal to your level.
* Feral Shape (requires Animal Shape): you can morph into a version of your animal that is one size category larger.
* Scout Shape (requires Animal Shape): you can morph into a smaller version of your animal.
* Pack Member: you can swear (temporary) allegiance to another creature (either a shapechanger or a like animal) in order to belong to their pack, tribe, or family. You can gain support from your pack when in dire straits.
* Pack Leader (requires Animal Shape): you gain followers as if you took Leadership. These followers can be either humanoids able to change shape into animals (such as druids, lycanthropes, kitsune, etc.) or animals close enough to your Animal Spirit species.
* Pack Mate (requires Pack Leader): you gain a cohort, and the full benefits of the Leadership feat. The cohort must be a humanoid able to take the same animal shape as you.
* Wild Empathy: you can interact with animals with Diplomacy, as a druid.
* Dual Spirit: you can select another animal spirit, by completing a 24h-long ritual in their natural environment. This requires finding an animal of the correct species, and befriend it.
* The Hunt (requires either Pack Leader or Pack Member): when you and your pack are on the hunt for one or several creatures, you share with them any teamwork feat that you have.
* The Howl (requires Pack Leader): once per hour, you can emit your Animal Spirit’s distinctive call. Those in your Pack gain a bonus to attack and damage equal to one-fourth your level. Those hunted must make a Will save with a DC equal to 10 plus half your level plus your Charisma modifier, or they are shaken for the duration of the hunt. In addition, you gain the effect of a Status spell with members of your pack who respond to your howl.
* Thick Fur: your natural armor, when in half-shape or animal shape, gains a bonus of +1 per 4 levels.
* Spell Resistance: you gain Spell Resistance equal to your level.
* Spell List: if you are a spellcaster, you gain a +2 bonus (to CL and save DC) when you cast spells in relation to lycanthropy, silver, or animals.
* Bonus Feat: you gain a feat in relation with the abilities that you have taken from this archetype. If you have Animal Shape, you can take feats related to Wild Shape and monster feats. If you have The Hunt, you can choose teamwork feats. If you are Pack Leader, you are considered as having Leadership. You need to meet their prerequisites.
Please note that, despite the fact that there are more than twenty abilities listed above, the character can only select ten of them over the course of their non-epic journey. This archetype package's structure (a couple abilities up-front, and selectable abilities every two levels) mirrors the Blacksnake (see the related third-party products I mentioned in the first post). As you will see with other archetype packages, this is a concept I like very much. If you find the power and/or versatility too much for your own games, feel free to restrict access to the list of powers to one every three levels.
This archetype package grants you the following abilities:
* Doctor: you gain +1 per level to Heal checks, and it becomes a class skill if it wasn’t already one. You can refill any healing kit you have for free when in cities (you usually negotiate your services in exchange for this). You also know how to bleed people to diminish certain conditions (but not necessarily the condition’s source itself – such as a poison or illness): by drawing 1 damage as a full-round action, you alleviate the Sickened condition; if your target is Nauseated, you can cure it by inflicting 1d4 damage. You might be aware that bleeding people in an unsafe environment can expose them to other illnesses… or not.
At level 2, and every two levels afterwards, you gain another ability, to be chosen among the following list. Unless specified otherwise, all abilities can be taken only once.
* Repeat Healing: on a given creature, you can “treat deadly wounds” once per level per day, instead of only once per day. If you take this ability a second time, the number of times you can use this is unlimited.
* Increased Healing: increase the number and dice size when “treating deadly wounds”. You can take this ability several times. 1d4 becomes 2d6, then 3d8, 4d10, and 5d12 (the maximum).
* Sugar High: when “treating deadly wounds”, any healing in excess of the target’s hit points can become a number of temporary hit points that last for an hour. After that hour, the target is Fatigued.
* Adrenaline Rush (requires Sugar High): you can “treat deadly wounds” without the recipient actually needing treatment. As mentioned in the Sugar High ability, the excess healing becomes temporary hit points that last one hour, after which the recipient is Fatigued. In addition, during that hour, the target experiences a rush of adrenaline that reinforces their physical and mental prowess: they gain +4 to Strength and Intelligence. After the hour is up, that bonus becomes a penalty instead (which last until the recipient rests).
* Quick Healing: you can use the Heal skill as a swift action to treat wounds, or a full-round action when treating worse conditions.
* Mobile Healing: you can move both before and after healing a creature. If you have Quick Healing, you can use the Heal skill on two separate creatures during your move. You can also use the Heal skill without penalty while on a moving vehicule (or moving alongside your target).
* Efficient Healing: you don’t need a healing kit to use the Heal skill, although you have -2 to the check. If you do have such a kit, your use of it is optimized enough for it to act as if it contained 20 doses instead of 10.
* Survivalist: you easily recognize the medicinal properties of herbs and creature parts. You gain +1 per level on Survival checks made to find food, water, or herbs (but not to trail creatures), and can make such a check (in an appropriate area) to gather enough materials to fill one or several healer’s kits. You also gain +1 per level on Profession (Cook) to prepare healthy meals, and Profession (Furrier) to skin animals and use their furs. These three skills become class skill if they weren’t already.
* Brew Remedies: you know how to bottle your medicines, requiring one hour of preparation. This allows you to give them to other people, and they can use your remedies later, when they need them (the “shelf” life of these remedies is only one day, though). These remedies can be either swallowed, inhaled, or brought in contact with the recipient’s skin. As such, you (or anyone) can use them as thrown weapons, healing those on which they fall.
* Medicinal Fumes (requires Brew Remedies): you can brew a specific remedy (one given use of the Heal skill) in a way that being exposed to its fumes is enough to use it. It requires one hour of preparation and a full healer’s kit, and the remedy is valid for one day per level. When exposed to fire, it emits fumes that last one minute and heal everyone in a 30-feet radius. You can alter the fumes so that they are any color or scent you want, including transparent and odorless.
* Two-part Remedies (requires Brew Remedies): you can brew remedies so that two different products are needed for the remedy to work. Or more than two.
+ If you have the Medicinal Fumes ability, this ability allows you to give your party members the first part at the beginning of the day (it lasts one day), and expose them to medicinal fumes in the middle of combat (and only your party members will be healed).
* Treat Poison: you can make Heal checks to neutralize poison. The check DC is equal to 10 + the poison’s DC.
+ If you have Brew Remedies as well, you can also brew ingested or injected poisons. And you don’t risk poisoning yourself accidentally when using them.
+ If you have Medicinal Fumes, you can make and use inhaled and contact poisons. And you can gaz a combat area, having provided your party members with the antidote beforehand (or not).
+ If you have Two-Part Remedies, you can prepare two-parts poisons as well, with each part being either inhaled, ingested, injected, or brought to contact with the target’s skin.
* Treat Illness: you can use Heal to cure illnesses. Same as above: you can bottle germs if you have Brew Remedies, create an aerial agent if you have Medicinal Fumes, and infect your targets with two agents if you have Two-part Remedies.
* Treat Disfiguration: you can use Heal to remove blindness, deafness, or anything that happens to a creature’s face (such as biting its own tongue off).
* Treat Curses (level 6+): you can use Heal to remove curses and paralysis.
* Treat Enchantments (level 8+): you can use Heal to break enchantments and charms.
* Treat Damage (level 8+): you can use Heal to reduce wounds such as broken bones and hemorraghiae. You can also heal ability damage (1d4).
* Treat Drain (level 10+): you can use Heal to restore negative levels and ability drain.
* Reattach Members (level 6+): you can reattach a severed member. Alternatively, you can craft prosthetics to replace the lost member. If the recipient has been beheaded, you can reattach the head if you do it quickly (as the brain is not dead yet): you have only three rounds to act. The attachment is fragile, to start with, and the member (or prosthetics) doesn’t work quite well and can even fall off upon a natural 1 on any d20 roll in relation to it. After some time, the bone and flesh reattaches more solidly, as before. You can reattach torn members, but the damage is more extensive and more difficult to heal.
+ In addition, you know the weak points of most creatures. In your hands, any slashing weapon can sever a member on a natural 20 (with the critical hit confirmed). A Keen weapon can dismember a creature when the attack roll is in the original (not keen) weapon’s critical range. And a vorpal weapon can sever a head when making a critical hit (not necessarily a natural 20).
* Replace Organs: (level 10+): you can treat internal damage, and even make grafts. If you go mad, you might even create monsters, as Frankenstein did before you. As it is, you can reattach members on someone by grafting a member from someone else.
+ In addition, if you attack a creature with a well-placed blow in the guts, you can make it nauseated or sickened.
* Resilience: you gain a bonus to saves made versus any condition that you can treat (poisons, illnesses, etc). This bonus is equal to half your level (round down). You also don’t suffer from any discomfort when surrounded by blood and bile. You are immune to the Stench ability, and halve acid damage from being swallowed whole (if you are in this situation, you can deal sneak attack damage with all your attacks).
* Sneak Attack: you know where weak points are. You gain +1d6 Sneak Attack. This can be taken several times.
* Bleed Attack: you know where blood vessels are. With a piercing or slashing weapon, you can forgo sneak attack damage in order to add an amount of bleed damage equal to your attack’s minimum damage.
* Sanitary Training: you learned that cleanliness works best to prevent infections and worsening your patients’ afflictions. When treating deadly wounds in a clean environment, you gain a +4 circumstance bonus to the rolls (both the skill check and the number of hit points healed). You can clean an operation table by spending one minute and expending one dose from a healer’s kit.
* Forensics Training: you can inspect corpses (including helpless undead) and discover how the living creature died. That knowledge can explain a current epidemic among the living, including how to cure it. You also know how to protect yourself when undergoing this kind of examination, and these precautions grant you a +4 bonus when resisting undead abilities (unless you are helpless).
* Military Training: you were a medic working with soldiers, and became inured to the violence found on a battlefield. You can Take 10 on Heal checks when in combat situation (although you still provoke an attack of opportunity while doing so). In addition, used to forced marches, you became more resistant to fatigue and exhaustion, and can cure these conditions in half the normal time.
* Assistant: you gain a cohort.
* Orderlies: you gain followers. If you have both an assistant and orderlies, you are considered as having the Leadership feat.
* Hospital: you gain a base of operations <- lame pun <- lamer pun, still.
* Bonus Feat: you gain a bonus feat in relation to mundane healing (check with your GM). You need to meet their requirement, except that you can use your Heal total modifier for any possible prerequisites related to ranks in the Heal skill or your character level.
This archetype package grants the following abilities:
* Primary Material: choose a material. If can be any solid matter (packed earth, stone, marble, iron, steel, gold, wood, bones, jade, etc) – most people choose stone for its practicality, since choosing normally harder (or softer) matters doesn’t change the benefits of this archetype. Over time (and levels), your body will progressively lose its fleshy aspect and acquire your chosen appearance. As your body becomes more and more solid, you gain a +1 to your Natural Armor per 4 levels.
You lose all benefits from your stony aspect when subject to Stone to Flesh (for which you can attempt a save each round).
* Stone Body: when you advance in levels, you become more and more like a construct, although you still have your soul. You can’t be Raised, but can be resurrected or reincarnated, at which point you return to a normal body, recovering your Stoic Monolith abilities after 24 hours.
When you reach level 15, you acquire the racial traits of constructs instead:
* You become immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless), ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, energy drain, nonlethal damage, as well as mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms) and death due to massive damage.
* You lose your Constitution score (any DCs or other statistics that rely on a Constitution score treat a construct as having a score of 10 – no bonus or penalty) but you gain additional hit points depending on your size: 10 if you are Tiny or Small, 20 if Medium, 30 if Large (probably more if larger) – that’s good, because you are destroyed at 0 hit points. You also lose your natural ability to heal with rest, although you can repair yourself with spell and other effects (including the Craft Construct feat).
* You gain low-light vision and darkvision to a radius of 60 feet. As half-constructs, you don’t need to breathe, eat, or sleep.
* Stoic Demeanor: Bluff and Intimidate become class skills, and gain +1 per 4 levels. Same with Stealth when around statues made of your Primary Material.
At level 2, and every two levels afterwards, you can choose another ability among the following:
* Hardened Stone: you gain DR/Adamantine +1 per 4 levels.
* Hardened Impact: you gain a Slam natural attack dealing 1d8 damage. When your BAB reaches +6, +11, and +16, you add 1d8 to the damage (for this attack only, and because, as it is a natural attack, you don’t gain more uses with a high BAB).
* Stony Constitution: you gain a 5% per level chance to ignore a critical hit or precision damage. You also stabilize automatically.
* Stony Weaponry: weapons made of your primary material lose the “fragile” modifier when you wield them. You can wield improved weapons made of this material without the penalty from them being improvised weapons. You can wear armors made of this material as if they were one category lighter (regarding your proficiency as well as their encumberance).
* Stony Shards (requires Stony Weaponry): weapons you wield gain the Sharding ability.
* Stony Reshape (level 8+): as a full-round action, you can change minor aspects of your body, making you unrecognizable from your previous appearance. Treat this as Disguise Self. You can grow wings, additional appendages, a halo, or anything, but it is only cosmetic.
* Stony Embedment (requires Stony Reshape): you can embed ioun stones in your skin, as well as other precious or semi-precious stones, as decorations (like piercings). Veins of precious metal can also act like tattoes. If there’s some magic in those, they emit some light which can’t be hidden, but you can spend a full-round action to retract any or all decorations “inside”, hiding them and deactivating their effect. The same action can restore them.
* Mineral Blood (level 6+): your blood is thick and flows slowly. You are immune to bleed damage and blood drain.
* Mineral Health (level 8+): you are immune to poison and illness.
* Mineral Body (level 10+): you are immune to petrification.
* Mineral Aspect (level 10+): you can Hide in Plain Sight, as a stone statue.
* Mineral Nourishment: you can eat earth and stone. Any impurities therein are evacuated in the normal fashion. Yes, it means that you can eat mineral ore... and s+!* gold.
* Mineral Shape (requires Wild Shape or the ability to cast polymorph spells): you apply abilities from this archetype to all creatures you can morph into, including the stone-like skin.
* Mineral Companion (requires the ability to acquire a pet): your animal companion gains this archetype’s basic abilities (Stone Body and Stoic Demeanor).
* Mineral Summons (requires the ability to summon creatures): your summons gain this archetype’s basic abilities.
* Mineral Spells (requires the ability to cast spells): spells with Earth or Stone as keyword or part of their name are cast at Caster Level +1, and gain +1 to their save DC if applicable (if not, you gain +1 to attack rolls made for the spell). These bonuses increase by +1 for every 5 levels you have.
* Mineral Strength: when you lift items made of stone, they weigh only a quarter of their real weight for you. You can throw (and catch) rocks as giants do, provided that the rock is not heavier than you.
* Mineral Senses: you gain tremorsense with a radius of 5 feet per level.
* Mineral Detection: you detect constructs as a paladin detects evil. You can also detect large bodies made of a specific mineral (iron, gold, etc) within close range (30 feet +5 per level). In that range, you can also detect “holes” in earth and stone (you can determine that there is a huge hidden room behind a wall, for instance). If you take this ability a second time, you extend the range to medium range (100 ft + 10 per level). And a third time for long range (400 ft + 40 per level).
* Unimpeded Movement: you can move through difficult terrain made of rocky grounds as if it was normal terrain. Woodland Stride and Trackless Step apply to rocky hills, mountains, and underground terrains.
* Burrowing Movement: you can burrow through earth. You can take this ability a second time to burrow through solid stone.
* Stone-through Movement: you can use spells like transport via plants to teleport from one stone megastructure to another (monoliths only, such as menhir and dolmens, not stone buildings and constructions).
* Stoned: you are immune to drugs, including alcohol. Also, when hit by stone ammunition, you can choose to integrate it into your body. If its damage is completely negated by your damage reduction, you regain 1 hit point.
* Craft Constructs: you can craft constructs and half-constructs. When you do so, you can decide to keep it as a cohort. If you had another cohort, it leaves you (not necessarily going far away).
* Specific Shape: you can change your target form to emulate a specific construct. Consult your GM, as always, because you gain that construct’s abilities – if you took with this archetype an ability that mimics a construct’s (such as Mineral Health), the ability slot is freed and you can take another.
* Bonus Feat: you gain a bonus feat in relation with this archetype’s abilities (check with your GM).
Ideas taken and expanded from the Stonelord paladin and Menhir Savant druid archetypes
The Silk Geisha uses ordinary matter (silk) to fight. With time, your garment (scarves, veils, kimonos, sarees, etc.) will be as hard as steel. Abilities granted:
* Ki Pool: you gain a Ki Pool, like a Ninja (Charisma modifier + 1 point per two levels)
* Harden Silk: by spending 2 Ki points as a move action, the silk items on your person become hard like leather for 1 minute (you can dismiss the effect as a free or immediate action).
If you have only a silk vest or shirt, you gain the equivalent of a leather armor (AC +2); if you have a kimono or a saree, covering most of the body, you gain the equivalent of a hide armor (AC +4). You gain the other restrictions of that armor (max dex, check penalty, spell failure, etc). You can also treat any silken scarf you have (or veil, or even a length of silk from your saree) as a whip. While the effect is active, you are considered proficient with the armor worn and the weapon(s) used. If you have other abilities that require you not to wear an armor, they are unavailable until the effect ends.
Silk Talents: at level 2 and every two levels afterwards, you can select a Silk Talent among those listed below.
* Quick Silk: reduce the action needed to activate Harden Silk to a swift action. You can take this talent a second time to reduce the action to a free or immediate action, or even specify conditions (such as “falling unconscious” or “being targeted by an attack”) upon which the silk hardens automatically if it’s on your person at the time, even if you are unconscious (but not dead).
* Flurry of Silk: you gain Two-Weapon Fighting (or Multiweapon Fighting, if you have more than two arms). This ability can be taken again to gain the Improved and Greater versions of the feat, or another feat that requires TWF (such as Double Slice). You must meet the feats’ prerequisites, but, for that purpose only, you can add half your level to your BAB and your Dexterity score.
* Finesse in Everything: you can use Dexterity instead of Strength, to resolve melee attacks. You can take this ability a second time to do the same with damage rolls. And a third time to do the same with all other Strength-related checks.
* Increase Duration: the duration of your hardened silk becomes 1 minute per level.
* Harden Further: by increasing the cost by 1 additional Ki point, your silk items harden further, to the point of wood. A vest is akin to a wooden armor (AC +3), a saree to a chain mail (AC +6). Scarves and the like can be used as light shields or clubs.
The second time you take this talent (increasing cost by another +1), the silk hardens to the point of being like steel: a vest acts as a chain shirt (AC +4) and a saree as a half-plate armor (AC +8). You can also use your scarves as heavy shield or longsword.
The third time, your silk items harden further, to the point of being like adamantine. You gain DR 1/- or 2/- depending on the amount of silk you wear, and your weapons overcome adamantine-related DR.
* Lower Penalties: while your silk items react as hard material, you don’t feel their weight as such. The first time you take this talent, halve all penalties related to wearing the indicated armors. The second time, negate them.
* Prepare to be Enchanted: taking this talent allows you to prepare your silken items to be enchanted like regular weapons and armors. You can also transfer enchantments from a magic weapon or armor onto your silken items.
Taking this talent another time allows you to wear these enchanted items under your silken body wraps, and they are absorbed by the silk, disappearing from view until the silk is removed. Their magic abilities are active when you use Harden Silk.
* Whip Mastery: you gain the Whip Mastery feat (ignoring its prerequisites). It allows you to attack armored creature with a whip, and not provoke attacks of opportunity by doing so. When using parts of your silk garments as whips, if you have the Harden Further ability, the whip damage follows the progression indicated above: as a club when when hardened to the point of wood, or as a longsword when hardened as steel.
* Utility Whip (requires Whip Mastery): you gain the Improved Whip Mastery feat (ignoring its prerequites). It allows you to threaten the area around you, as well as grabbing items. When you attach the whip to something stable, you gain a bonus to skill checks regarding movement made by using the whip as support (climb, jump, etc). In addition, when using parts of your silk garments as whips, they are considered as Light weapons.
* Snapping Whip (requires Utility Whip): the area within your whip’s reach is considered as threatened area, and you can make attacks of opportunity with your whip. You can also use a longer length of silk to make a whip, gaining another square of reach, but the weapon is less efficient, and you take -2 to all rolls (attack and damage).
* Grappling Whip (requires Whip Mastery): you gain the Greater Whip Mastery feat (ignoring its prerequisites). It allows you to keep your whip if you fail a Disarm or Trip maneuver, and to grapple with it as an attack.
* Increased Sneak: (requires Sneak Attack): you gain +1d6 to your sneak attack. This can be taken several times. This additional damage only applies when using weapons gained from Harden Silk.
* Lower Cost: reduce by 1 the number of Ki points necessary to use Harden Silk. Can be taken several times, but you can’t lower the cost by more than half: if you take it three times and activate Harden Further to the point of steel (with a normal cost of 4 Ki points), it costs 2 points, not 1. This reduction applies before all other possible reductions (such as from the Ring of Ki Mastery).
* Layered Silk: using both hands, you can hold a large span of silk in front of something (or someone, or yourself), granting cover and AC bonus like a tower shield. You can only do this when your Harden Silk power is active.
* Throw Handkerchieves (requires Harden Further): you can fold and throw a silk handkerchief, and it acts as a dart.
* Etiquette: the silk kimono is the emblem of the geisha, and their other attributes are etiquette and seduction. As long as your silk is not hardened, you gain +2 to any Charisma-based roll, and you can spend a Ki point to reroll one of these (once). You gain the same +2 bonus to the save DC of Charm spells and effects you generate, as well as the ability to expend a Ki point to force a reroll of a given save (once, and it's 1 Ki point per target).
This archetype package, geared for spellcasting characters, grants the following abilities:
* Paper Cuts: you can attack with paper, parchment, and similar items (a fan, for instance). You are proficient with these attacks, and they are not improvised weapons for you. It inflicts 1 point of slashing damage, but this damage is negated if your opponent wears full-body metal armor. You can also spend a move action to fold a sheet of paper in order to throw them. The same rules apply.
If the paper is magical (a scroll, mostly), it deals 1d4 damage instead, can damage armored opponents, and gains a bonus to attack and damage. This bonus is equal to one-fourth of the item’s Caster Level (round down). You can opt to exchange parts of this bonus for weapon abilities, but only once per scroll.
Attacking with paper or a scroll makes it take one point of damage. Regular paper only has one hit point, so a new sheet must be procured to attack again. Magical scrolls have a number of hit points equal to the highest level of spells it contains. At 0 hit points, it is destroyed. The item can be repaired (see the rules about Repairing a Magical Item).
* Heavy Knowledge: You can also attack with books, either in melee or as a ranged weapon. Used in this manner, a book deal 1d4 bludgeoning damage. A book can also serve as a container of paper weapons. You can tear a page from a book as a free action.
If the book is magical, it gains a bonus to attack and damage (see above). You can opt to exchange parts of this bonus for weapon abilities, but only once per book. A book has hardness and hit points equal to the statistics of its cover (leather, wood, metal, etc.) with the bonus gained for being a magic weapon.
At level 2, and every two levels afterwards, you can select another ability among the following:
* Flurry: you gain the monk’s ability “flurry of blows” but only with this archetype’s weapons (including paper darts and books).
* Hardened Paper: your paper attacks inflict 1d4 damage per attack, and you can damage opponents in armor.
* Shielded: A book you “wield” can now act as a buckler (AC+1).
If you have Hardened Paper, a paper weapon can also act as a buckler. As with Paper Cuts, it only has 1 hit point (and 0 hardness) and is destroyed on a hit.
Magic scrolls used as shields take 1 point of damage per hit (unless Sundered). They (as well as magic books) can provide shield-related magic bonuses, depending on their CL.
* Sharpened Paper: your paper attacks inflict a bleed effect for 1 damage per cut. Bleed damage from these effects stack, up to a number equal to your class level.
* Folding: folding a paper (to make a ranged attack with it) is now a free action.
* Origami Summoner (requires spellcasting and Folding): you can choose to cast a summoning spell by folding a sheet of paper. Unless specified otherwise, this doesn’t change the spell itself, nor the summoned creature’s abilities.
The casting time becomes a standard action, but actually folding the paper requires a move action for every 5 HD of the summoned creature, to be done before the casting itself. You need 1 regular sheet of paper for every 1 HD of the creature(s) you summon. The paper model grows to the appropriate size when the spell is cast. Note that you can fold model creatures in advance.
The summoned creature(s) gains the Origami creature template: this templates cancels any hardness, DR, or resistance to fire/water the creature might have otherwise, and adds a vulnerability to fire (and catches fire whenever it takes fire damage). The creature loses its normal type and becomes a construct. The creature also gains a special attack: “dance of the thousand cuts”, granting it a flurry of blows as a monk. This flurry deals slashing damage and also causes bleed damage when hit (1 point per hit).
If invoked underwater, the water clogs the creature’s paper body. It can’t make his dance of the thousand cuts, takes damage as if on fire, and also gains a DR 5/- versus force and physical attacks.
Damage to the creature applies to the material. When the spell ends, the model creature shrinks back to model size and can be used again for another Summoning, but it keeps the HP loss incurred in the first round (if the first creature lots 50% of its hit points, the next one will start at 50%).
* Origami Expert (requires Origami Summoner): you can refold an active origami creature into another, which must belong to the valid choices for the ongoing spell (or a weaker one). You still need a move action for every 5 HD of the intended creature. You can refold a creature into a weaker one, but not a stronger one. You can also tear the paper to create several creatures, but not mend it to refold several creatures into a larger one.
Additionally, you can fold variants of the intended creature, granting it a 1-point evolution to be taken from the Summoner’s list, but reducing the available choices to the list belonging to the summoning spell that is one level lower. You can also do it in advance or apply it to an active origami creature.
Finally, you can use used paper to fold your creatures. If there are words written on it, the creature can understand them. If there is enough text on it (such as page ripped from books), the creature can speak the language as well. If one or more spell scrolls are used, the creature can cast the spells. It loses the scroll when doing so, losing 1 HD at the same time (and the corresponding hit points).
* Scroll Efficiency: When using a scroll to cast a spell it contains, you gain either +1 to your CL or to the save DC. This bonus increases by one every five levels after taking this ability. You can also take your own abilities into account (including the use of your spellcasting ability score) instead of those stored by the crafter.
* Scroll Writing: you gain a 50% discount on crafting costs for Scrolls and other items made of paper (not including the expensive material components from the spells used or stored). You also gain a bonus to the crafting check, equal to half your level.
* Book Efficiency: when you use a magical book, any bonus it grants is increased by 1. You can also peruse a book in half the time it normally requires.
* Book Supremacy (requires Book Efficiency, level 16+): when you use a magical book, any bonus it grants is increased by 2. You can read a mundane book in one round, and a magic book in one-tenth the time it normally requires.
* Fast Talker: you gain a bonus to Bluff and Diplomacy checks. The bonus is +2, but it increases to a value equal to your class level if you provide proper documentation (whether forged or not, it must be prepared beforehand).
* Cunning Linguist: once per day, you can cast Comprehend Languages or Identify. You also gain a +4 bonus on any activity in which you make use of your tongue.
* Details Devil: you gain a bonus to Linguistics as well as a new language: Legalese. You can read, write, and fluently speak the language of lawyers and other convoluted speakers (with any other language you know).
* Administrative Obstruction (requires Details Devil): you can make any Combat Maneuvers by speaking to a target (this is a mind-affecting language-dependent effect). The player is encouraged to invent confusing reasons. If you provide a complicated form in relation to the action, you gain +4 to the check, and the enemy loses it’s possible size bonuses to CMD.
* Administrative Confusion (requires Administrative Obstruction, level 10+): once per day, you can cast Confusion on an audience. Every three levels after taking this ability, you gain another daily casting of this spell. By expending one of these uses, you automatically lift such a spell from yourself.
* Administrative Maze (requires Administrative Obstruction, level 14+): once per day, you can cast Maze on an audience. As above, you gain another use every three levels afterwards, and you can lift it with one use.
* Administrative Soul (requires Administrative Obstruction, level 16+): as the above but with Magic Jar.
* Bonus Feat: you gain a bonus feat in relation to this archetype's abilities (check with your GM) and for which you meet the prerequisites. You can take this several times, gaining another feat each time.
See also the numerous options available online for characters using scrolls.
This is an archetype package, mostly for evil character... but everyone can take it. At first level, it grants the following abilities:
* Blood Pool: Gain a “Blood” (Ki) Pool (Constitution + level/2). Stacks in its usual way with other Ki pools (the number of levels stack, and you choose the ability score).
* Blood Attacks: most of this archetype’s powers deal with blood. As such, you’ll need to attack living creatures (those that contain blood or a similar substance such as sap for plants or oil for some constructs) with a slashing or piercing weapon.
* Draw Blood: by spending a Blood point as you make an Blood Attack, you inflict a bleeding wound, and your opponent loses 1 hit point per round until the wound is closed (Heal check, as normal). Contrarily to what normally happens, this kind of bleed damage is cumulative: if you did this twice, the amount of bleed damage becomes 2. However, this amount can’t exceed your level.
* Bloody Murder:: when you deal a killing blow with a Blood Attack (whether you used Draw Blood or not), you regain 1 Blood point. Enemies with less than half your HD don’t count. “Half your HD” here means you round down, with a minimum of 1: at levels 1 to 3, it concerns enemies with 1 HD or more (those with fractional HD don’t count). At levels 4 and 5, those with 2 HD or more. Et cetera.
At level 2, and every two levels afterwards, you choose an additional Blood Talent among the following:
* Blood Reservoir: when you have no more points in your Blood Pool, you can power your Blood abilities with your own hit points. As a swift action, you can gain a number of Blood points by losing 5 hit points per Blood point gained.
* Blood Drawing: by directing the flow of combat, you can use the blood spashing around to draw shapes on the surrounding environment (walls, floor). This action can intimidate foes witnessing it (Will save DC 10+level/2+Constitution)
* Bonus Feat: you can take a feat related to blood, Constitution, or Ki. If you have taken the appropriate abilities, the feat can also be in relation to survival, summoning, or wild shape.
The following abilities can also be taken. They are grouped here because of their common theme (healing and survivability).
* Controlled Flow: Your own blood is thick, and you don’t suffer from bleed effect willingly. However, you can accept a bleed effect to generate the same number of Blood Points. You gain that number of points only once, at the moment it is inflicted. Afterwards, during your own turn and after having taken the bleed damage, you can use a move action to close the wound.
You can even do this on yourself, making yourself bleed, but the net result is zero (you spend as many points as you gain). However, certain abilities make use of the fact that you are currently bleeding (see Combat Flow, below).
* Metabolic Flow: You can direct your blood in your body so that wounds heal themselves. By spending Blood points as a swift action, you heal 4 times as many hit points. With one application of this ability, you can’t spend more points than your level.
* Mercy Flow (requires Metabolic Flow): You can also redirect your blood to alleviate conditions. You gain one Mercy (as defined in the Paladin class). You can apply mercies when you use Metabolic Flow, paying 1 Blood point for each.
* Subconscious Metabolism (requires Metabolic Flow, level 12+): you gain Fast Healing 1. You can take this more than once, each time increasing by 1 the amount of Fast Healing you gain.
* Bloody Regeneration (requires Metabolic Flow, level 14+): by spending Blood points, you can regenerate a lost limb: 5 points for a hand or a foot, 10 for a forearm or a calf, 20 for a whole limb. This takes one minute per point spent, during which you are helpless.
* Subconscious Regeneration (requires Bloody Regeneration): you gain Regeneration 2/acid.
* Blood Youth (requires Bloody Regeneration): you gain the Timeless Body ability: you lose all age-related penalties. You can take this ability a second time, upon which you lose the ability to die of old age.
* Blood Exchange: you can transfer healthy blood into a wounded creature. By spending a number of Blood points as a move action, you heal 2 times as many hit points on target creature. If you don’t have Metabolic Flow, you can use Blood Exchange on yourself.
* Tough It Out: you can use your Constitution modifier for Reflex saves, instead of what it currently is (Dexterity, typically)
* Resiliency: you can use your Constitution modifier for Will saves, instead of what it currently is (Wisdom, typically)
* Mettle: as Evasion, for Fort saves. This applies to all Con-based saves, including Reflex and Will if you take the above abilities. However, even with this ability, some effects can’t be avoided. If the effect is a poison-like effect with hit point or ability damage incurred even with a successful save, this ability negates that damage when you do save.
* Mettle, Improved: as Improved Evasion. As with Mettle, some effects can’t be diminished.
* Blood Bath: if you submerge completely in blood, you gain Fast Healing 2 (or increase by 2 your existing Fast Healing ability).
* Blood Jump (level 10+): as a move action costing you 5 Blood points, you can jump into an expanse of blood and emerge from another within view and medium range (100 ft +10/level). The expanses of blood must be large enough for your body to pass through (depends on your size and the number of HD bled off – or you can use Blood Drawing to shape a blood stain into a sufficiently-sized portal).
* Blood Connection (requires Blood Jump): you gain the ability to teleport from one Blood Bath to another, using 10 Blood points to do so. The range is 1 mile per level, and you must know that there’s a viable destination beforehand (a pool, with enough blood if possible). If you try this and the destination pool doesn’t contain enough blood, you take as damage half your maximum number of hit points. This damage is what is needed to fill the destination with enough blood for transportation, but your arrival makes it splash around. Since the blood isn’t in the pool anymore, you can’t use it to return (and you also can’t use the Fast Healing from the Blood Bath ability, if you have it).
The following abilities can also be taken. They are grouped here because of their common theme (combat).
* Blood Fountain: when you use Draw Blood, the blood splurts and stains adjacent creatures. By spending another Blood point to the Draw Blood cost, the blood can cover specific parts of your enemy’s body, disabling him for a round:
Eyes: blinds your enemy
Ears: deafens your enemy
Mouth: mutes your enemy – can also suffocate him, if applied for a long period
Hands: grip becomes slippery – there’s a chance that held items are dropped
Feet: stance becomes slippery – chance of falling
* Combat Flow: If you are currently suffering from a bleed effect, you can spend a swift action to gather the blood into your hands, forming one or several weapons, the type of which depends on the bleed effect. You use the bleed damage as points and use those points to make weapons with the following “cost”: 1 point for each simple weapon, 2 for a martial, 3 for an exotic.
You can also form ranged weapons, using the same action to create whatever you need to throw at your enemies. If you create a projectile weapon, you need to spend 1 additional point to create the required ammunition.
All such weapons have the additional effect of splashing your target with your blood when you hit it. For thrown weapons, all adjacent enemies get blood on them. If you miss with a ranged attack, use the appropriate diagram to see which square is splashed.
If you cease your bleeding, your weapons disappear at the end of the round.
* Blood Mutation: By directing your blood to flow freely into your muscles, you become stronger or faster. You spend a number of Blood points as a swift action to gain the same number as a bonus to either Strength or Dexterity. This bonus can’t exceed half your level (round down) and last a number of rounds equal to your level. During that time, you can’t use your Blood pool for anything else. You can end this effect as a free or immediate action.
* Toxic Immunity (level 10+): You become immune to natural afflictions like poisons and illnesses. You can take this twice to become immune to magical or supernatural poisons or illnesses.
* Toxic Blood (requires Toxic Immunity): Despite being immune to natural afflictions, you carry them in your blood for the length of time the affliction lasts normally. Anything that bites you (or swallows you while you are wounded) becomes exposed to ingested or contact poisons or illnesses. Creatures splashed by your blood becomes afflicted by contact poisons or illnesses.
* Gruesome Execution: when using Bloody Murder, you gain an additional Blood point. You can take this ability once per 6 levels.
* Serial Killer: if, in the same encounter, you use Bloody Murder several times in consecutive rounds, the number of Blood points regained increases by one each round. If the succession ends, you return to your normal amount.
For instance, suppose you are level 5, don’t have Gruesome Execution, and you killed a HD 1 creature. It doesn’t count since it’s less than 2 (which is half your HD, rounded down). Next round, you kill two HD 3 creatures, and Bloody Murder makes you gain 1 Blood point for each. Next round, you kill another one, and the improved Bloody Murder makes you gain 2 points. Kill two the next round, you gain 3 points for each. The following round, you fail to kill a relevant enemy, and your Bloody Murder payout drops back to 1.
* Virgin Blood: when you smell or taste the blood of a humanoid creature, you can detect if he/she is “innocent”. This can push you into a frenzy that lasts one round per level, or until either of you is killed. This frenzy grants you +2 to Strength, and Constitution, but -2 to your other ability scores. You also feel compelled to take the virgin’s blood. If the virgin is killed and you activate Bloody Murder, you gain double the number of Blood points. You can resist the frenzy with a Will save DC 15.
* Summon Blood: you can open a bleeding wound on a living enemy at close range (30 ft +5/level), or even make it bleed without a visible wound (from the mouth/eyes/ears, or sweating blood). You spend a number of Blood points as a standard action, and the enemy takes that number as damage (if you want to actually open a wound) and bleed effect. It gets a Fortitude save (DC 10+level/2+Constitution) to avoid the bleed effect.
* Blood Rust: you can now use your abilities against constructs.
* Life Blood: you can now use your abilities against undead.
The following abilities can also be taken. They are grouped here because of their common theme (summoning and morphing).
* Summon Obstacle: you can move and reshape spilt blood into shapes or items of coagulated blood. This allows you to create caltrops, obstacles, difficult terrain, or walls if there’s enough blood. Blood used in this way can’t be used to Summon Creature (see below) and vice-versa.
* Summon Creature: you gain the ability to cast Summon Monster I by spending 1 Blood point as a move action. Every two levels after taking this ability, you gain the possibility to cast the next spell level of Summon Monster (the cost in Blood points is equal to the spell level). The summoned creature gains the Bloody template (see below).
You can’t use this ability if there is not enough blood around: count the number of HD of living enemies defeated with bloody wounds, this is the maximum spell level of Summon Monster available to you, and you remove that spell level from that number of HD when you cast the spell. For instance, if you have two corpses of HD 3 monsters, you can use Summon Monster IV once, then Summon Monster II.
* Blood Shape (level 6+): you gain the ability to cast Beast Shape I by spending 1 Blood point as a move action. Every two levels after taking this ability, you gain the possibility to cast the next spell level of Beast Shape (the cost in Blood points is equal to the spell level). This is similar to Wild Shape and you can gain benefits from effects that improve Wild Shape (including the ability to take and use Natural Spell). Your shape gains the Bloody template (see above).
* Bloodless Shape (level 8+): you gain the ability to cast Undead Anatomy I by spending 1 Blood point as a move action. Every two levels after taking this ability, you gain the possibility to cast the next spell level of Undead Anatomy (the cost in Blood points is equal to the spell level). This is similar to Wild Shape and you can gain benefits from effects that improve Wild Shape. While in an undead form, you can’t use your Blood abilities unless the undead actually has blood in its body.
* Blood Slime (level 10+): you gain the ability to morph into a Blood Slime (like a normal Ooze, but made of blood).
* Blood Pack (requires Summon Creature and Blood Shape): when you use Blood Shape, you can use Summon Creature with the same move action, with a form similar to the one you chose. The result is that a number of identical shapes emerge in close range (30 ft +5/level). If you also have Blood Jump, you can also opt for your square to be taken by a summoned animal (or none at all) and you emerge from another square in the area. This makes it especially difficult for your foes to pinpoint your location.
* Pack Refill (requires Blood Pack): you can use Summon Creature to add new monsters to your Blood Pack. When using this ability, the number of creatures in your pack can’t exceed your class level.
* Blood Component (requires spellcasting): you can spend Blood points when casting spells. This allows you to ignore regular spell components, and replace costly ones with a ratio of 1 point for 10 gp.
* Cthulhu Variant (requires Summon Creature and/or Blood Shape): instead of summoning or morphing into bloody creatures, you summon or morph into otherworldly tentacles, as if a hideous monster was trying to climb out of the ground (looks like the Black Tentacle spell, too, but each tentacle is its own creature).
The skin’s appearance is under the control of the creature or its summoner, but must be the same for all tentacles and the “skin” left behind when it moves (it’s generally black and oily, but can be dark green or sickly white as well, or anything). When a tentacle bleeds, it leaves behind a disgusting ichor, which appearance is also under your control (can be luminous green, pitch black, crimson bubbles, etc). The “blood” can make the tentacle slicker, causing a -5 penalty to all grapple attempts (from the tentacle or others). If the creature’s HD is 5 or more, said ichor is poisonous. At HD 10 or more, it’s also acidic, making the tentacles’ attacks gain the Corrosive ability. At HD 15, the tentacles gain the Corrosive Burst ability. Once the creature lost some hit points, it can whip around and throw a blob of blood towards its foes. Treat this as a thrown splash weapon, dealing 1d4 damage plus the poison and/or acid.
The appearance of Cthulhu creatures can cause fear in onlookers, an effect that can be avoided with a Will save with a DC equal to 10 + half the HD of the highest-level creature + the number of such creatures. Those who already saw such a display can’t be more than shaken by its appearance. Those who already knew that you could do this as well. Those who both knew and saw are unaffected.
If you used Blood Shape to morph into a Cthulhu creatures (with or without the Blood Pack), you can make it as if your original body disappeared into a central “mouth”. You emerge as a tentacle adjacent to it. Dead “tentacles” dissolve after a minute. If you are dead, you then appear as if you were partially digested inside said tentacle.
* Great Cthulhu (requlres Cthulhu Variant): when using the Cthulhu Variant, instead of “Tentacle Monster”, creatures can take one of the following templates:
Sorry for the spoilered content, I can't seem to display the BBCode tags for itemized lists and sublists.
I think that a Black Blade archetype would be a good one to add.
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This archetype package grants you the following abilities:
* Shadow Power: you gain a pool of Shadow points, which acts as a Ki Pool except it’s based on your Intelligence – it contains a number of points equal to half your level plus your Intelligence modifier. You can spend one point to reroll a Stealth check you just rolled, with a +4 bonus.
* Shadow Bonus: as long as you have at least one Shadow point in your reserve, you gain a bonus to Stealth checks, equal to one-half your level (round down).
* Shadow Vision: you gain Low-light Vision, which means that you see twice as far in areas of dim light. You also gain Darkvision with a range of 30 feet (if you don’t have it already).
At level 2, and every two levels afterwards, you gain another ability, to be chosen among the following:
* Extended Darkvision: your Darkvision range increases by 30 feet.
* See in Darkness (requires Darkvision 120 feet): you can see in darkness of any kind. Your eyes are completely black and twice as big, and you gain Light Blindness (you are blinded in areas of bright light). If you take this ability a second time, you gain Light Sensitivity instead.
* Heat Vision: you gain a special kind of Darkvision that allows you to perceive creatures (and objects) from the heat (or cold) they generate, within 60 feet. This vision doesn’t allow you to read writings (unless the letters are at a sufficiently different temperature than their support).
You can take this ability several times, the range extending by 30 feet each time. You can also see through regular walls, ceilings, and floors (the number and thickness thereof depending on the number of times you took the ability).
* Shadow Sense: you can perceive shadows around you, allowing you to perceive hidden creatures within close range (30 feet +5 per level). Against those, you gain your Shadow Bonus to Perception checks. The second time you take this ability, its range extends to intermediate (100+10/level), and you can halve distance penalties to Perception checks (round up). The third time, the range extends to long (400+40/level) and you can halve again the distance penalties. Bright light areas breaks the “line of sight” of this ability (which means that you can’t use it at all if you are in such an area).
* Hide in Plain Sight (level 6+): when within 10 feet of an area of dim light, you can spend a Shadow point to use Stealth to hide, even without cover. When you reach level 10, you don’t need to spend Shadow points anymore.
* Living Shadow: your normal shadow can become a separate creature (although it is a shadow, it is not an undead creature). Treat this ability as a first-level Summoner’s Eidolon, except that you spend a Shadow point to summon it. You can expend more points in order to gain that many additional evolution points for this summoning. You can choose different evolutions each time you summon your Living Shadow, although the cost is halved if you select the same from one summoning to the next.
The Living Shadow powers don’t increase as you level, but you can take this ability several times to do so: each time you take this ability after the first, you gain +4 to your effective Summoner level, not to exceed your level in this archetype (which includes levels in all classes you took this archetype with, as usual).
Also, the first time you take this ability, the Living Shadow is still linked to you (its legs connect to yours through the soles of your feet, if you touch the ground). The second time you take the ability, the shadow can disconnect from you, but it can’t enter another room. It can do so the third time you take the ability. Note that you don’t cast a normal shadow as long as the power is active.
* Dual Shadows (requires Living Shadow, level 16+): as Twin Eidolon.
* Unliving Shadows: you gain the Command Undead feat, but it can only target Shadows. You can also use Channel Energy to heal Shadows. If you have the Living Shadow ability, the summoned creatures is now healed as an undead Shadows.
* Shadow Magic (requires the ability to cast spells): when you cast a spell with “shadow” in its name, or as one of its descriptors, or belonging to the list of shadow spells (such as those in the illusion school simulating evocation spells), you can expend a number of Shadow points to gain, per point, +4 to your CL, +1 to the save DC, or lower by 1 the cost of metamagic (if the metamagic cost is brought to zero, the spell is cast with a normal casting time and spell slot).
* Shadow Travel: you can expend a Shadow point to travel through the shadows, entering in one shadow and emerging from another. You expend two Shadow points to do so, as a standard action, and your travel distance can’t exceed 5 feet per two levels. You can take this ability three more times, extending the range to close (30 feet + 5 feet per level), intermediate (100 feet + 10 per level) and then long (400 feet + 40 per level). Also, each time you take this ability after the first, the previous use become faster (reducing the action cost) and easier (reducing by one the actual cost in Shadow points). You must be able to perceive your destination before trying this travel, although you can use spell or magic items (or the Shadow Sense ability, above) to do so.
For instance, taking the ability twice at level 6, you can hop 15 feet or less as a move action for 1 point, or jump 60 feet as a standard action for 2 points. Taking the ability a third time at level 10, you can travel through 25 feet as a swift action with no cost, 80 feet as a move action for 1 point, or 200 feet as a standard action for 2 points. And taking it a fourth time at level 14, you can travel 35 feet as a free action (although no more than once per round) at no cost, 100 feet as a swift action at no Shadow point cost either, 240 feet as a move action costing you 1 point, or up to 960 feet as a standard action for 2 points.
* Shared Shadows: by expending one Shadow point, you can extend to another creature the benefit of one of your powers. You can do this with several others, but each has an individual cost increased by one.
If the chosen power has a cost in Shadow points, add this cost to each target creature. The cost for each target can be diminished through the usual means.
For instance, if you are level 9 and want to use Hide in Plain Sight with three friends, it will cost you 10 Ki points (1 for you, 2 for your first target, 3 for the second, and 4 for the third). At level 10, the use of Hide in Plain Sight becomes free, and its use for your team of four will be 6 Ki points (1 for your first target, 2 for the second, 3 for the third).
* Menacing Shadows: the twirling shadows around you disturb any creature you confront. You gain your Shadow Bonus to Intimidate checks, and the ability to use the Intimidate skill as a swift action, and the Dazzling Display feat as a move action.
* Guild Member: you are recruited in a guild of thieves-assassins. This provides you with contacts in many cities, although law enforcement people are rightfully angsty around you.
* Guild Master (requires Guild Member): you gain the Leadership feat. With the followers you gain, you can also try to either climb ranks in your guild, or build your own.
* Black Blade: by painting your blade in black between fights (with a paint that doesn't cost much in itself, and is freely given within guilds), it is better hidden in darkened areas. You gain your Shadow Bonus to (Sleight of Hand) checks to hide a blade on your person. When in areas of dim light, your blade is less noticeable even when drawn, and the first time you hit a creature in these conditions (which can be the second time you hit it, if the first was already in “regular” surprise), it is flat-footed. Whether hit or not, your target is immune to this ability for 24 hours.
* Shadow Blade (requires Black Blade): your blade can be tranformed into shadows at will. It can be hidden in your shadow, only clattering on the floor when you don’t have a shadow anymore – which is almost impossible through regular means, although note that using Living Shadow means you can’t hide your blade while your shadow companion is active.
Even the matter of your blade is not completely there, allowing you to ignore part of your opponent’s armor, at the expense of damage: you can ignore up to a number of points of AC equal to your Shadow Bonus, by subtracting that number from your weapon’s die of damage. If that damage die (alone, without modifier such as Strength, magic, Sneak Attack, and other effects) is reduced to zero or less, your blade passes completely through the opponent, doing nothing (no damage, no other effects).
By voluntarily applying this ability in full, you can damage normally creatures that are incorporeal or similarly protected (such as being halfway in the Astral plane or the Shadow plane).
* Bonus Feat: you gain a feat in relation to this archetype’s abilities (check with your GM), and for which you must meet the prerequisites.
Ever heard of Blade-Bound Magus or Blade Adept Arcanist? Might be another cool thing to do.
Necro'd
This archetype package is made for characters really close to a single item. Maybe it is a heirloom? Whichever the source is, the archetype grants the following abilties:
* Item of Choice: you gain an Item of Choice. It’s an item to which you are (or want to be) specially attuned. It can be a weapon (most choose a sword, and some magi cults and arcanist adepts even paint them black), a shield, a suit of armor, but it can also be a skill tool (such as a hammer with which you craft armors, or a set of lockpicks, for instance), a book (including a spellbook)… anything. Note that most abilities below refer to the item, and it means the item itself, not others of its kind (unless written that way).
- Each ability that applies to an Item of Choice also grants the item additional hardness (+2) and hit points (+5), as if it was a magical enhancement (on top of those granted by those actual bonuses).
At level 2, and every two levels afterwards, you gain another ability among the following:
* Other Choice: you gain another Item of Choice. Each time you gain an ability that improves an item’s abilities, it applies to only one of them (your choice).
* Twin Choice: you gain another Item of Choice, of the same kind as another you already have. The items are now considered as one “Item of Choice”, and all bonuses are duplicated. However, the items can’t be separated by a distance larger than close range (30 ft +5/level), or they cease to function. For most characters, this ability will be most useful for making use of two-weapons styles of combat.
* Discount of Choice: if you can participate in the effort to improve it (if you don’t craft it yourself, you must spend one hour per day with the person crafting it), your item’s enhancement costs are halved.
* Always Clean: if you choose so, your item cleans itself up, or simply doesn’t get dirty. You can also to have it appear as something more expensive that is already is… or less. For instance, when moving around noble circles, you might want your leather armor to appear as refined and expensive hide, with silver inlays (only decorative, mind you), while you prefer to have it appear as a rotten rag when traipsing around beggars.
* Enhance Item: instead of paying for your weapon’s enhancement, you can use this ability instead to add another +1 (or another magic ability) to your item as you wield it. But only you: if you lend your item, these bonuses don’t apply.
- If your item is sentient, you can spend a one-hour ritual to change the way you apply the plusses from the instances of this ability (for instance, if you have taken this ability three times, adding +3 to the weapon’s enhancement bonus, you can spend an hour to transform two points of bonus into the “flaming burst” enchantment).
* Item Sentience: your item becomes an intelligent item. Intelligence and Wisdom scores start at 10, Ego at 5. You can communicate with it telepathically or verbally, and it knows a number of languages equal to its Int modifier, plus one that you can speak when you select this ability. It can allocate skill points from a high Int, and use the skills it has access to. It can see within close range (30 feet, or 30+5/level if it becomes a familiar). Even without your direct control, the item can levitate itself up to 5 ft up the ground, and move at a speed of 5 ft per round. It can fetch help, for instance, even if it takes a particularly long time.
* Improve Sentience (requires Item Sentience): increase by two the item’s scores (Intelligence, Wisdom, Ego) and by one square its tactical speed and perception range (including perception depth through earth). The item might not agree with you on all things, if its attribute scores are higher than yours, but it will never hamper your actions.
* Project Sentience (requires Item Sentience): if picked up by someone else, the item can attempt a possession of the individual. If that doesn’t work, it can still reject its new owner – treat this as a regular Ego fight. If you throw the item or stick it somewhere, you can still communicate telepathically with it and perceive things that it can perceive – If the item launches projectile, you can apply this ability to such a projectile, instead, in which case it lasts one round after being launched.
* Exchange Sentience (requires Item Sentience): you possess your item, and can move and communicate with its usual ways. For the duration, your body is possessed by your familiar’s mind, allowing it some basic function (movement, mainly). When using this ability, the item can move further from the body than its normal limits, and it teleports back to the body when you leave the item’s direction.
* Item Familiar (requires Item Sentience): you can consider your item as a Familiar. It gains a number of feats equal to one per four levels you have (this is continuous, as your familiar improves as you level). The feats can be used by the item or by its owner, when applicable. Weapon Focus on a weapon can be used by either. Or both, of both have it. But other feats can’t be used by both. And others can’t be used at all. Use your common sense, or ask your GM.
- If broken or lost, the item can be recreated with a special ritual that costs 200gp per level – not to exceed twice the item’s value. The ritual also requires an “empty” vessel of the corresponding type (the same kind of item). If your Item of Choice was magical, you need at least a masterwork version of it. Only the rightful owner of the Item Familiar can use the ritual. Upon completion, the original item turns to dust, and its sentience returns to the new item.
- Note that costly properties are not recreated immediately: you need one day to recover each +1 from a magic item (or an equivalent amount of money)
* Item Familiarity: if your item can be used as a weapon and you lack proficiency to wield it correctly, you gain said proficiency. If your item isn’t a weapon, you can now wield it (and other of its kind) as weapon as if you had the Improvised Weapons feat. If it is not a shield already, you can also use it as a shield of an appropriate size (for most weapons, this is no better than a buckler – although you can now enhance your weapon with shield enchantments). If it is an armor that you couldn’t normally wear without penalty, you can now wear it normally (this doesn’t take into account armors that you are forbidden to wear, such as a druid’s metal armor forbiddance).
* At Hand: the item moves to your hand with a free action, if it’s freely accessible such as being in a scabbard on your belt, or a bandolier, or hanging from your backpack – this counts as Quick Draw for the item only. If it’s adjacent to you or in your backpack, it jumps to your hand with a swift action. If it’s within close range (30 ft + 5 per level), you need a move action; and a standard action or a full-round action if it’s at medium (100+10/level) or long range (400+40/level). Exception: if you just threw it as an attack, it returns to your hand immediately afterwards – unless you don’t want to, such as with grenades. With armors or other items that need some time to equip, just add a move action to the times mentioned above. Also note that returning the item to its resting place costs the same time.
* At Paw (requires the ability to change shape): the item may stay on your body when you change shape, if possible, although it might change shape as well. Armor becomes barding, granting armor bonus but the armor miscellanous penalties as well. Weapons become grafts attached to your paws or talons or whatever natural attack you morph your limbs into. Shields change shape but can still act as such. For other items, check with your GM.
* Telekinetic Item: you can make your item float around you, directing it with your mind. If you use it to attack, use your Intelligence to hit and to damage (but don’t multiply this bonus to damage for two-handed weapons).
- If you move one weapon with your mind, you can move another with your body, but this is considered as Two-Weapon Fighting (incurring the usual penalties). You choose which is your “main” attack, and the others are all off-hand attacks.
- If you have Twin Choice with several weapons, you can move them all with your mind, but the damage bonus is halved for all attacks.
- Whether you have Twin Choice or not, you can take Telekinetic Item twice to direct two weapons (that are both Items of Choice). Also, this second time you take Telekinetic Item counts as having Two-Weapon Fighting with this kind of fighting.
* Item Immovability: as the Rod of the same name, you can activate a feature that makes the item stick in place (in relation to your place on the planet). When you’re in a moving vehicle, you can instead make it stick to a place consistent with the vehicle (but can choose not to, pushing yourself through the vehicle’s parts as your item tries to stay immobile respective to the planet).
- Around your item, a bubble of stable air forms after one round of immovability, allowing you the following boons: while holding to your item when it’s stuck that way, you’re impervious to weather conditions that would dislodge you, gain +2 to AC versus projectile weapons, and can carry a weight twice higher than normal.
- After ten rounds, the bubble solidifies, and everyone inside must start to hold their breath. The bubble then stops everything physical, and the solid air is white and blocks line of sight and effect. If you lose consciousness, the immovability ends.
* Free Refill: if your item is a projectile weapon, you spend no action to reload it, and you can mentally choose the ammunition among those on your person. If the chosen ammunition is not magical, you can choose to apply the effect of Abundant Ammunition (the spell): what is shot is a duplicate that disappears after hitting the target (or not).
- If it’s a notebook, you never run out of pages, even if you tear them out (torn pages that are empty disappear after a minute).
- If the item has a tank (such as a lamp), it never empties (but must be filled at least once with the correct fuel).
* Hardened Item: your Item of Choice becomes hard as steel as long as it’s on your person (change its base value for hardness and hit points). If you throw it, it stays hard just enough time to deal damage, after which is returns to its normal state. When you pick them again, they recover this hardness after one round. You can use the hardened material as if it wasn’t hard at all, but attacks from outside consider them as metal. This is useful for characters choosing “leather armor” or “spell book” as their chosen item: the armor is still a light armor although you improve your AC as if it was a breastplage; as for the book, you can read it with no problem, turning pages as paper, but you can do so underwater and under assault from melee weapons. You can even tear pages and use them as shuriken – and, with Free Refill, you can even do so all day long.
- For a given Item of Choice that is already hardened with this ability, you can take it a second time, making the item as hard as adamantine. Armors not already made of adamantine gain DR 1, 2, or 3 depending on whether they are light, medium, or heavy. Weapons (and improvised weapons) bypass adamantine-related DR.
* Improved Combatant: if your item is (or can be used as) a weapon, you can increase your Base Attack Bonus by a number equal to one per four levels you have (making 1/2 BAB classes as 3/4, and 3/4 as full BAB). Your BAB can’t exceed your level (at least this way) so this ability is of no use for Combatant classes.
- However, they can use the second effect granted by this ability: your CMD (that is already based on a BAB value that may have increased already) also increases by the same amount (1 per 4 levels).
* Bonus Feat: you gain a feat related to this archetype abilties, for which you need to meet the prerequisites. With Items of Choice that are weapons, you can consider your level in this archetype as your fighter levels when evaluating those prerequisites (such as qualifying for Weapon Specialization). Note that you can choose feats which require others that your Familiar has, but if you lose the familiar, you lose access to the feats.