Weekly Wonders - Archetypes of the Afterlife Volume III

Taking Care of Unfinished Business!

Adventurers have a special relationship with death in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. While for many, death is one of the few things in this world that is both certain and final, for an adventurer, especially at higher levels, it is more of an inconvenience than anything else. Some characters may even find themselves dying and being brought back to life with magic multiple times in a single fight. The Weekly Wonders: Archetypes of the Afterlife series explores some of the ways that a brush with death might affect PCs, with a variety of new afterlife-themed archetypes.

For this book, we focus on the restless, those tortured souls who cannot accept the reality of their death, and remain tied inextricably to the mortal plane. Often, these souls remain because of some task or business left undone, though they themselves are unable to complete it in their current state. Such spirits are drawn to those who are touched by death, and have greater ability to perceive their wishes, sometimes offering supernatural aid in exchange for doing what must be done to allow them to pass on. This book includes the following archetypes:

The spiritologist, an arcanist archetype who can gain arcane power by communing with restless spirits and aiding them with their needs, and gains access to a number of ghost-themed exploits.

The hate channeler, a bloodrager archetype that consumes the essence of haunts and restless spirits, using their rage to empower his own.

The spirit blade, a magus archetype that channels the essence of restless spirits into his weapon, and gains a variety of ghost-themed powers.

The spirit shepherd, a psychic archetype that specializes in soothing restless spirits and helping them to pass on,

The spirit of justice, a vigilante archetype whose vigilante identity is actually a restless spirit that possesses him to pursue its own ends, granting a variety of supernatural abilities.

The Restless, a new emotional focus for spiritualist phantoms, representing phantoms who are unable to move on to the afterlife, and remain tied to the material plane by unfinished business.

Whether you're about to embark on a campaign where the afterlife features prominently (such as the official Paizo Adventure Path featuring an undead tyrant), or you just want to play a character touched by the grave, this book has lots of tantalizing options to offer. Even GMs can get in on the fun, as several of the archetypes here are perfect for deathly NPCs as well, and can make for exciting and memorable encounters.