I see there is a limitation of callings, none of them really fit some character archetypes. Like how would I choose a Calling for a violent, grappling Barbarian? I can't seem to find one that matches that type of character. Am I the only one to find this difficult? It feels more like you have to build around the Mythic Callings in a Mythic game then building a character then choose a Mythic Calling.
While more callings would be welcome, they explicitly do not want direct offensive options baked in. There will likely never be a grappling/tripping calling. Probably no demoralize calling either. Mythic shoving and and Mythic battle medicine is called out as being as far as they wish to go within the chapter.
The Calling is more of a who your character is and not a dice-rolling mechanical element thing. (Yes, it does have a mechanical aspect, but that is not the focus of the Calling). Why do you do what you do, and what your destiny might be.
For your example, I'd go with Hunter's Calling. You are destined to find and grapple some legendary beast. Maybe a massive snake, or a hydra, or something like that.
The Callings help the GMs and Players shape the kind of mythic story that you want to tell. A key aspect of the Mythic rules is that the whole group shapes the world through them, and the Calling is one of the first steps.
Yes...if you read p85 it seems very clear that Paizo intentionally focused the design of Callings to be not about attacks, defenses, or damage.
Except there's a Medicine one which is by far the best one, not only because of the skill it covers, but also because it offers you the easiest way to recover mythic points once per day.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Risky Surgery is by far the most broken skill feat to include in Mythic simply because it changes Medicine well Treat Wounds from a Success to a Critical Success giving you 1 Mythic Point for free almost with the most simple Anathema.
Anathema: deny care to the disadvantaged, refuse to heal the
wounds of an enemy who has surrendered
Basically don't deny care to disadvantaged which is easy or just don't heal enemies that surrender, so like nothing is stopping you from simply killing... and yet there is not a single calling for violence or grapple or intimidation...That's WEIRD!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Conversely, that would also mean you can't use risky surgery when you have all 3 mythic points for fear of wasting the recharge. I think the simplest explanation is that they forgot one skill feat while writing the callings. Simply adding have said something like, "Callings do not give you back a mythic point for critically succeeding if the degree of success was increased by something other than a natural 20," addresses your concern. Given we have multie classses (Swashbuckler, Magus, Summoner, and Kineticist) with major compatibility issues, I'm hardly surprised one feat interaction slipped through the cracks.
Callings in general are are so weird, both in design and overall flavor. I'm honestly not seeing myself ever using the callings from the book but rather homebrewing something myself because they feel so lame overall. I think this book was the one that suffered the most from the Remaster since its clear it needed more internal playtest, if not a public playtest for people to actually see how mythic was going to be.
Even after making a level 1 Mythic Characters we had a problem choosing Mythic Callings. A lot of us were moving towards Caretaker's Callign for how easy it is to get that free Mythic Point which is not how the game should be played. Still it needs a lot of work and every skill and every action should try to have a calling which helps the skill. Feinting, Intimidation, Lying... Why is there no Calling about being a trickster and lying and deception? Also how is there no Calling for the magical skills or to be a religious nut who mythically serves your deity?
|
I see there is a limitation of callings, none of them really fit some character archetypes. Like how would I choose a Calling for a violent, grappling Barbarian?
May sound odd but I'd use Sage's Calling to Recall Knowledge to find your opponent's weaknesses. Think of it as Battle Sages Calling or Wrestling Sages Calling.
"I will learn your weakness then use that to tear your arms off!"
Seems like a good violent way to use Recall Knowledge to your advantage.
Sage's Calling
"When you attempt to Recall Knowledge, you can spend
a Mythic Point to attempt the check at mythic proficiency.
The first time each day that you critically succeed on a Recall
Knowledge check against an enemy creature, you regain a
Mythic Point"
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Like how would I choose a Calling for a violent, grappling Barbarian? I can't seem to find one that matches that type of character.
As mentioned, the mythic callings are (deliberately) not directly associated with combat effectiveness.
For a "violent, grappling barbarian," your best bet is to use a complimentary calling. Depending on the specific character details, you might find the Acrobat's Calling (Tumble Through or Long Jump checks), Demagogue's Calling (instead of focusing entirely on Demoralize), Guardian's Calling (Disarm, Reposition, and Shove instead of only Grapple), Hunter's Calling (Seek or Track to find/follow enemies), or (as mentioned) Sage's Calling (to Recall Knowledge about weaknesses) could be useful.
You may also want to look at the available mythic feats. Even though the 2nd level mythic feat Binds that Tie requires "a check to Grapple an opponent who's already grabbed by an ally," (emphasis mine) which would need another grappler PC or the barbarian to have a minion that can grapple, there may be some other mythic feats that require a specific calling or possible investment in specific skills/ability scores for increased benefit.
|
|
You may also want to look at the available mythic feats. Even though the 2nd level mythic feat Binds that Tie requires "a check to Grapple an opponent who's already grabbed by an ally," (emphasis mine) which would need another grappler PC or the barbarian to have a minion that can grapple, there may be some other mythic feats that require a specific calling or possible investment in specific skills/ability scores for increased benefit.
This is perfect for some barbarian grapplers to start doing some tag team wrestling.
Also how is there no Calling for the magical skills or to be a religious nut who mythically serves your deity?
... That's sage's calling. Recalling knowledge ja the only action the magic skills do consistently enough to tie to a calling.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I was thinking about choosing Artisan Calling for my Crafting Witch because I want my goblin to evolve into a god of crafting. But the anathema of this Calling seems extremely limiting compared to the other Callings. Or have I just misunderstood it? In principle, I can't use anything that I haven't made myself. It's also almost impossible to have all the skills to make everything yourself.
Not really all you need is crafting skill and a formula book for uncommon stuff and I guess rare recipes also. I might be wrong on that but it feels right but yeah you need ot use your own tools unless you are figuring out other people's inventions which runes I'd think would count but I would say it depends on DMs since I am sure some would say you MUST make every common thing because the system is open tot ht and the only thing you can use is uncommon/rare tagged items.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I was thinking about choosing Artisan Calling for my Crafting Witch because I want my goblin to evolve into a god of crafting. But the anathema of this Calling seems extremely limiting compared to the other Callings. Or have I just misunderstood it? In principle, I can't use anything that I haven't made myself. It's also almost impossible to have all the skills to make everything yourself.
It's one of those that depends on how lenient your GM wants to be. Since the anathema is "use a weapon or item crafted by someone else, except for the purpose of learning its function so you can understand how to create it yourself"
That last part is super vague, since it can be anything from "well you immediately know what this does, so you can't use it" (if, say, the item is uncommon) to "well you have the formula for it, so now you know the ins and outs and can't use it until you craft it" to "well this is a rather unique item so you'll never truly learn how to create it".
The "destroy the creations of other artisans" is also pretty bad, since again it's a bit too vague. Would destroying the trebuchets the enemy is using to beseige the city count? What about sinking a pirate ship? What about facing constructs in battle?
Not entirely sure what the idea was behind kneecapping Artisan this way, none of the other anathema are even close to these in how they restrict player characters.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Because the way the developers envisioned PCs finding their path to immortality is by sticking to some kind of cause with great dedication. Just being very good at fighting or casting spells isn't enough to be a mythic character.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Because the way the developers envisioned PCs finding their path to immortality is by sticking to some kind of cause with great dedication. Just being very good at fighting or casting spells isn't enough to be a mythic character.The idea of "something greater than yourself"—like family, nation, morality, religion, culture, and so on—falls under the category of legacy, which is all about what lasts after you’re gone. But there’s also another angle: trans-humanism. This approach aims to tackle death not by focusing on legacy but through advancements in medicine. I just wish this perspective got more attention.
That sort of fundamental pioneering change still requires conviction and dedication, though.
I am finding the available edicts and anathema to be rather limited, though. I was trying to figure out what my Prey for Death character would look like after they're empowered in the finale, but there's not a good calling for an assassin mentor. Villainous PCs in general seem to be underrepresented amongst the callings, which is odd when two of the mythic destinies are very much intended for villainous characters.