I'm really interested in building a character around a great racial archetype. What do you guys consider the best ones, the top 1% in terms of power or awesomeness, and what makes it so?
J
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There's an archetype for the bloodrager which seems to be intended as a catfolk racial one, the Prowler at World's End. First good thing: an awesome name for it! It also gives flexibility to an otherwise inflexible class, adding medium spirits which you can choose daily and later on the option of polymorphing into a great cat rather than the usual effects of a bloodrage.
It may not be in the top 1% - there just aren't that many racial archetypes - but it is good.
Stonelord is maybe the only one I see get mentioned on a somewhat regular basis.
I have a deep seated love for the saboteur alchemist archetype.
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I feel fiend flayer (magus; tiefling) deserves an honorable mention.
Not because it is particular strong or useful. But because it has absolutely zero investment. It doesn't trade out a single class feature.
The main ability of the archetype lets you trade 'natural healing only' con damage for arcana points. And that was a steep enough trade that the designers decided that you didn't need to trade away class features to get the option. Everything else is just some additional arcana options that you don't need to take.
I like this, since it can mix with anything. If you are playing a tiefling magus, there is no reason to NOT take this archetype. I feel this is good design- don't give us a costly option that also takes up room within the class. This also adds flavor, without forcing players to think "is this worth messing up the standard build for this class?"
It's a cavalier order, not an archetype, but Order of the Paw for halflings looks fun. And pre-erratta scarred witch doctor is great, if available.
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Venom-Blade for the nagaji.
once he can spit entanglement venom he can pretty much control the battlefield. (specially once it's aoe).
i know the spit venom tree is open to any nagaji, but the class let him eventually use it many times per round and as swifter actions beside the original feat use.
also. it stacks with the Gloom-Blade to form the ever so versatile 'Voom-Blade' a guy who walks empty handed into the battlefield and can take on almost anything he face.
I feel fiend flayer (magus; tiefling) deserves an honorable mention.
Not because it is particular strong or useful. But because it has absolutely zero investment. It doesn't trade out a single class feature.
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Since it alters Magus Arcana (even though this is just by making more options available), it has the opportunity cost of being incompatible with any other Magus archetype that alters Magus Arcana (even if you don't select the extra Magus Arcana options).
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Goblin Firebomber Alchemist -- be THE Mad Bomber.
I enjoy the nimble guardian for catfolk. I enjoy the beastshape on non caster.
BTW, is Human Ethnic Archetypes being counted here?
Seems like they would, being limited to one race, and more specifically within that too.
Feral gnasher is amazing
BTW, is Human Ethnic Archetypes being counted here?
Seems like they would, being limited to one race, and more specifically within that too.
Humans have racial archetypes? Ethnic archetypes sound awesome.
I am a massive fan of the water singer bard assuming you can get your DM to agree to let you play a Naiad.
Better race for the archetype both in terms of lore and mechanics. It just didn't exist when the archetype was printed.
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I always that that the Drow's Cavern Sniper archetype looked pretty cool. Especially if you also took the Drow Nobility feat line that lets you use the Drow spell-like abilities at-will; you basically have a guy whose dropping big globes of darkness to disrupt the enemy front lines while also shooting the sneaking guys with faerie fire to mark them out to his front-line allies.
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Well for me the Hobogoblin Cavalier archetype, Fell Rider , would be my choice.
For starters you have to be the master race of Hobgoblin, which is excellent because we are made of Win! Second is that the Racial Level Bonuses actually very effective and useful for this class: You gain a bonus to both Ride AND Intimidation, up to +10 on both. As for the class itself...
...you are a Hobgoblin version of a Ring-wraith, an avatar of fear, terror and awesome!
Your ability are focused on two facts that you will come to embody.
First is that you always have right-of-way...and anyone that disagrees with that will find themselves 'road-kill' shortly thereafter. Second is that you are the scariest thing anyone will ever meet and it takes nothing more than sticking out your chin and grunting to send to the kingdoms elite scampering away like whipped goblins!
And should you have an ally that deals in fear too, you can engage in jolly cooperation to send your enemies fleeing before you mind-rending terror, content that you have proven your superiority without even drawing you sword!
Praise the Hob!
I really like the Bramble Brewer Alchemist. Half-Elf only. The Dendrite Mutagen swaps the AC and stat bonuses (+4 to AC, +2 to a stat), making you incredibly tanky, and gives fast healing in bright light. I mean, it's not much, but it's very cool, and eliminates the need for healing out of combat (as long as you're outside, of course).
The Briar Bombs are cool, but arguably become worse the more you level up, as the splash range will be insane once you hit level 7 or so. At first it's a cute patch of difficult terrain, but by then you'll cover entire rooms with it, including your allies' spaces. Great for when you don't want the enemy advancing on you, but in close combat it'll become quite a nuisance.
I'm quite taken with the Calamity Caller War-priest archetype. Especially if you want to make a melee oriented switch-hitter that relies on their calamities instead of a ranged weapon. You lose out on focus weapon, sacred weapon, and the bonus feats but, meh, I think it is worth it.
I really like the Bramble Brewer Alchemist. Half-Elf only. The Dendrite Mutagen swaps the AC and stat bonuses (+4 to AC, +2 to a stat), making you incredibly tanky, and gives fast healing in bright light. I mean, it's not much, but it's very cool, and eliminates the need for healing out of combat (as long as you're outside, of course).
The Briar Bombs are cool, but arguably become worse the more you level up, as the splash range will be insane once you hit level 7 or so. At first it's a cute patch of difficult terrain, but by then you'll cover entire rooms with it, including your allies' spaces. Great for when you don't want the enemy advancing on you, but in close combat it'll become quite a nuisance.
The thing about classes like that is that if the party develops to work with each other, they're incredibly powerful, if the 2 melees have no intent to be any good at ranged engagements then its what the privateer press community refers to as "skornergy"
The 9 tailed heir kitsune sorcerer archetype is fun, letting you grab extra tails faster.
The 9 tailed heir kitsune sorcerer archetype is fun, letting you grab extra tails faster.
You can combine this archetype with the kitsune universal favored class bonus that nets them 1/6 of a magical tail feat, and quite quickly have a lot of spell-like abilities to throw around.
The 9 tailed heir kitsune sorcerer archetype is fun, letting you grab extra tails faster.You can combine this archetype with the kitsune universal favored class bonus that nets them 1/6 of a magical tail feat, and quite quickly have a lot of spell-like abilities to throw around.
Throw in the 9 tailed scion trait and you can have all 9 tails by level 7.
The Underfoot Adept Monk can get pretty silly... if you cheat into it with a Racial Heritage Human.
Throw in the 9 tailed scion trait and you can have all 9 tails by level 7.The 9 tailed heir kitsune sorcerer archetype is fun, letting you grab extra tails faster.You can combine this archetype with the kitsune universal favored class bonus that nets them 1/6 of a magical tail feat, and quite quickly have a lot of spell-like abilities to throw around.
And then you take more magical tails feats for a whole lot more magical tails spell-like ability uses.