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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

All Archetypes
Artifact | Class | Combat Style | Core | Faction | Multiclass | Mystical | Profession | Undead

Combat Style Archetypes

These archetypes focus around a physical means to fight.

PFS StandardAldori DuelistDedication Feat 2

Uncommon 
Source World Guide pg. 35 2.0
Prerequisites trained in Aldori dueling swords
You have sworn the Aldori swordpact and study the art of Aldori dueling, a famed school of bladecraft which has been passed down for over a millennium from the teachings of Baron Sirian Aldori. One day, you hope to demonstrate your skill at swordplay in order to become acknowledged as a true swordlord.

PFS StandardArcherDedication Feat 2

Source Advanced Player's Guide pg. 157 2.0
Bows of all types are powerful weapons. Generals and hunters alike recognize the power in dealing death from long distances, and from behind cover. Those dedicated to the bow—from mysterious cloaked strangers to heartless snipers—are often viewed with a mixture of respect and fear. Like any weapon adept, the archer's skill is forged through experience and constant practice. A true archer becomes one with the bow and is able to accomplish with that weapon things that most would consider impossible, or at least nearly magical.

PFS StandardAssassinDedication Feat 2

Source Advanced Player's Guide pg. 158 2.0
Prerequisites Alchemical Crafting; trained in Crafting, Deception, and Stealth
Targeted killing through stealth and subterfuge is the expertise of an assassin. While assassins are skilled in ending lives and many are evil, some live by a moral code, preying on the wicked, the cruel, or those who revel in unchecked aggression or power.

PFS StandardBastionDedication Feat 2

Source Advanced Player's Guide pg. 159 2.0
Prerequisites Shield Block
Some say that a good offense is the best defense, but you find such boasting smacks of overconfidence. In your experience, the best defense is a good, solid shield between you and your enemies. You've focused your training on how best to use a shield to protect yourself and those around you.

PFS StandardBullet DancerDedication Feat 2

Uncommon 
Source Guns & Gears pg. 132 2.0
Prerequisites expert in unarmored defense and trained in unarmed attack
While most monastic orders and traditional fighting schools shun firearms as loud and unreliable technology for unskilled conscripts, you fuse flourishing feints and ricocheting gunplay into a whirling ballet of bullets. As a bullet dancer, you might become the target of brash duelists and gladiators looking to make a name for themselves. But you tend to welcome the attention and might have proven your reputation while dancing your deadly ballet in tournaments from Tymon to Goka. You've found your fluid motions and explosive attacks to be surefire crowd-pleasers, even as they serve to confound and shock your foes.

PFS LimitedButterfly BladeDedication Feat 4

Uncommon 
Source Pathfinder #166: Despair on Danger Island pg. 78
Prerequisites trained in butterfly swords
You've trained in one of Goka's oldest traditions of espionage, intimidation, and combat mastery. You use your skills to learn about your enemies and cut them down with your mastery of the butterfly sword.

PFS RestrictedDemolitionistDedication Feat 2

Uncommon 
Source Guns & Gears pg. 133 2.0
As rippling explosions bring a castle's walls tumbling down, you grin and wipe the stone dust of your handiwork from your face. Brute force might work for others, but applying science to place the right explosives in just the right spot is essential to your craft.

PFS LimitedDrow ShootistDedication Feat 2

Uncommon 
Source Pathfinder #165: Eyes of Empty Death pg. 77
Prerequisites trained in the hand crossbow
Some drow take skill with the hand crossbow to new heights. You've learned the secrets of these fabled drow shootists. With fearlessness and swagger, you can accomplish amazing deeds with hand crossbows.

PFS StandardDual-Weapon WarriorDedication Feat 2

Source Advanced Player's Guide pg. 170 2.0
You're able to effortlessly fight with multiple weapons simultaneously, weaving your weapons together into a storm of quick attacks. To you, continual offense is the best form of defense, and you leave little room for your foes to avoid your whirlwind of weapons.

PFS StandardDuelistDedication Feat 2

Source Advanced Player's Guide pg. 171 2.0
Prerequisites trained in light armor and simple weapons
Across the world, students in martial academies practice with their blades to master one-on-one combat. The libraries of such schools hold deep troves of information detailing hundreds of combat techniques, battle stances, and honorable rules of engagement. Those who gain admission to such schools might train in formalized duels—and that's certainly the more genteel route to take. However, others assert that there's no better place to try out dueling techniques than in the life-and-death struggles common to an adventurer's life.

PFS StandardEldritch ArcherDedication Feat 6

Source Advanced Player's Guide pg. 172 2.0
Prerequisites expert in at least one type of bow
While many archers see their craft as an art form as much as a means of battle, a small number of archers seek to perfect their skills through magic, and you are among their number. Bolstering your athletic and martial abilities with mystical talents, you achieve rare heights with the bow or crossbow—transforming arrows or bolts into eldritch ammunition, sending arrows zig-zagging nearly unerringly to their target, and manifesting arrows that can deliver spells or even instant death.

While having some spellcasting ability increases your potential flexibility and power as an eldritch archer, you might learn the secrets of these arts without being independently skilled in spellcasting, instead learning the magic of the bow for its own sake.

PFS StandardJalmeri HeavenseekerDedication Feat 4

Uncommon 
Source Impossible Lands pg. 224
Prerequisites Student of Perfection Dedication, or you've trained with a champion of the Challenge of Sky and Heaven
Certain martial artists dedicate themselves to fighting in Jalmeray's Challenge of Sky and Heaven. These individuals devote themselves to the esoteric mysteries of the sky.

You can select the dedication feat for the Jalmeri Heavenseeker archetype even if you haven't yet gained three feats from the Student of Perfection archetype.

PFS StandardMagic WarriorDedication Feat 2

Uncommon 
Source World Guide pg. 95 2.0
Prerequisites ability to cast focus spells
You mix magic and martial prowess, following in the tradition of the Ten Magic Warriors of Old-Mage Jatembe.

PFS StandardMartial ArtistDedication Feat 2

Source Advanced Player's Guide pg. 182 2.0
You have trained in the martial arts, making your unarmed strikes lethal. You seek neither mysticism nor enlightenment, and you don't view this training as some greater path to wisdom. Yours is the way of the fist striking flesh, the hand turning aside the blade, and the devastating kick taking your enemy down. Your training is focused and practical, and since you have turned every part of your body into a weapon, you never find yourself without one. While you might have learned your techniques in a dojo or school focused on training the body, you might just as easily have learned them in street brawls and bar fights, combining instincts with intense athleticism for a deadly combination.

PFS StandardMaulerDedication Feat 2

Source Advanced Player's Guide pg. 183 2.0
Prerequisites Strength 14
You shove your way through legions of foes, knock enemies on all sides to the ground, and deal massive blows to anyone or anything that comes near.

PFS StandardOverwatchDedication Feat 2

Uncommon 
Source Guns & Gears pg. 50 2.0
Prerequisites expert in Perception
With a stalwart mind and sharp eyes, you observe the battlefield as though you and your allies are pieces on a chessboard. By predicting dangers and hazards and offering your insights to your comrades, you win battles through keen observation and teamwork. Whenever there's a threat or opening, you're the first to point it out, and you're ready to help your allies directly when necessary.

As a group's overwatch, you might let the position go to your head. In such cases, you might think of yourself as the mastermind behind the chessboard and feel detached from your allies, thinking of them as little more than pawns on the field.

But more likely your role allows you to feel a deeper connection to your allies, and your coordination and heroics stand out most when you subsume your individual ego to serve the group's needs. In that case, you might think of yourself as a part of a functional whole—if your party was a single living body, you serve as the eyes, but that doesn't mean you're the brain, the heart, or other vital organs. Everyone has a crucial role to play.

PFS StandardPistol PhenomDedication Feat 2

Uncommon 
Source Guns & Gears pg. 136 2.0
Prerequisites trained in at least one type of one-handed firearm; trained in Deception and Performance
You treat combat as an art and your pistol as an extension of your performance. You might wield a single pistol, a pair of pistols, or a pistol paired with a melee weapon to pull off showy maneuvers. However you slice it, though, the use of pistols or other one-handed firearms is crucial to your technique and style.

To you, everything is a show, and you use your gun as a prop and instrument, not just to kill opponents but to trick, mislead, hinder, and even bully them into doing what you want them to do. While others tend to focus on delivering as much devastation downrange as possible, your style is all about control. By controlling a foe's attention and actions, you can bolster your own attacks and mitigate the foe's potential for mayhem. You control the tempo of the battle much as you would a staged performance, carefully ensuring your foe's actions don't fall outside of your intended script. You're both the director and the star of this show, and your enemies dance to the tune you play with your pistol... sometimes quite literally!

ProvocatorDedication Feat 10

Uncommon 
Source Pathfinder #159: All or Nothing pg. 79
Prerequisites Strength 14; Charisma 14
The provocator is a gladiator who mixes brilliant performance with mastery of weapons.

Sixth PillarDedication Feat 10

Uncommon 
Source Pathfinder #167: Ready? Fight! pg. 77
Prerequisites Dexterity 14; expert in Acrobatics; ability to cast spells
The Sixth Pillar follows a tradition that blends martial arts with magic. Traditionally, this is a way to better focus and harness innate or bloodline magic, but it can be used by anyone who can cast spells.

PFS StandardSniping DuoDedication Feat 2

Source Guns & Gears pg. 138 2.0
Prerequisites trained in at least one type of weapon in the bow or firearm groups; trained in Stealth
Skilled shooters who don't let their egos get in the way of their efficacy are likely to say that sniping is a two-person job. Taking down a target without giving away your position or giving the opponent a window for reprisal is difficult work that requires teamwork and coordination, as well as a tight-knit bond and shared perspective. Sniping duos live and die by the credo “two heads are better than one,” focusing their skills and strategies toward deadly efficiency. Whether your spotter and partner is a fellow ranged combatant or a melee enthusiast, you've learned how to use the openings they provide to devastating effect.

PFS LimitedStaff AcrobatDedication Feat 2

Uncommon 
Source Pathfinder #151: The Show Must Go On pg. 75
Prerequisites Dexterity 16; trained in Acrobatics and Athletics; trained with at least one of the following weapons: staff, bo staff, halfling sling staff, or any weapon in the spear or polearm group (referred to in this archetype as “your staff”)
You can perform amazing acts in and out of combat when you have a spear, staff, or polearm.

PFS StandardStalwart DefenderDedication Feat 2

Uncommon 
Source Highhelm pg. 110
Prerequisites trained in light armor
The military history of the dwarves is a story of largely defensive combat and tactics, whether it be as simple as guarding a camp during the Quest for Sky or a protracted siege, such as at the Sky Citadel of Kraggodan. The martial discipline of the stalwart defender arose over the course of centuries to become an iconic dwarven warrior, capable of holding their ground against overwhelming odds and not ceding an inch of stone.

To be a stalwart defender is to stand with the resilience of a mountain. When danger arrives you face it unflinchingly, allowing your enemy's blows to glance off you like wind whistling past granite. This mindset comes naturally to dwarves, while other ancestries typically need specialized training to attain the determination needed for such a style.

PFS StandardSterling DynamoDedication Feat 2

Uncommon 
Source Guns & Gears pg. 52 2.0
While many people across Golarion use prosthetic devices, you've acquired and outfitted yourself with a particularly advanced combat model of clockwork prosthesis: a piece of cutting edge technology called a sterling dynamo. You know how to maintain your dynamo and how to customize it to suit your needs and style, incorporating any promising new technologies you encounter into its design.

There's a significant distinction, however, between someone who merely has a sterling dynamo prosthesis and someone like you who is a true sterling dynamo. With their recent invention, people in Absalom and Dongun Hold with access to the technology have begun to adopt sterling dynamos as their prostheses of choice, among the wide variety of amazing options already available in both markets. However, not everyone who chooses to use sterling dynamo technology is a member of the sterling dynamo archetype.

With the sterling dynamo archetype, you both use a sterling dynamo prosthesis and truly understand its advantages, limitations, and limitless potential. You don't have to literally be your own mechanic, as there's no requirement for a sterling dynamo to be particularly skilled at crafting, but even if you aren't, you can still “feel” what's right when it comes to adjusting and optimizing your dynamo. Whether you implement these improvements yourself or present your mechanic with ideas and insights that allow them to achieve something special on your behalf, your strength and ingenuity are what make you a sterling dynamo.

As you train to use your dynamo in all sorts of adventures, you may become capable of feats its original inventors never dreamed possible. In fact, as you progress in the archetype and explore the possibilities, you might find that these inventors want to interview you in order to apply your insights and help them create a new generation of the technology with even greater capabilities. The sterling dynamo's adaptability grants it vast potential, so the sky's the limit!

PFS LimitedStone BrawlerDedication Feat 2

Uncommon 
Source Pathfinder #195: Heavy is the Crown pg. 82
Prerequisites Constitution 14
Stone brawlers learn to encase themselves in temporary, magical rock that empowers their unarmed strikes and defends their bodies. Their relationship to stone is often transactional, and they call on the resilient material for utilitarian purposes. Most stone brawlers view rock as a tool to be utilized in the heat of battle, much as a fencer values their sword or a wizard their magic.

The practice of conjuring stone is most common where resources are scarce, such as Belkzen, the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, or within the Darklands, where the value and resilience of stone is well known.

PFS StandardTrapsmithDedication Feat 4

Uncommon 
Source Guns & Gears pg. 54 2.0
Prerequisites Snarecrafter Dedication, or Snare Specialist ranger class feat
Wielding a wrench or blowtorch, you manufacture snares that whir and tick with delicate precision. Your best work requires the right materials—a glorious set of brass fittings and cogwheels—with which you create snares that are as elegantly lethal as they are subtle. As a trapsmith, you're always improving your snares: adjusting timing, tweaking triggers, and finding new ways to hide them from foes.

You can select the dedication feat for the trapsmith archetype even if you haven't yet gained three feats from the snarecrafter archetype.

PFS RestrictedUndead MasterDedication Feat 2

Uncommon 
Source Book of the Dead pg. 41
Prerequisites evil alignment
Not everyone with an interest in the undead raises a vast army of faceless, disposable minions. You prefer to cultivate a more personal relationship with a small number of undead companions, personalized to your needs and expectations. Those companions with minds trust you implicitly; those without are extensions of your will. Perhaps they see you as a teacher or caretaker, shepherding them on the path to peace and passing on, or perhaps they are your protectors, bound to aid you by negotiation and magical spells. Whatever the case, they will fight for and alongside you without question, throwing themselves into danger without hesitation if it will provide a means to your desired end.

This archetype works well for a necromancer capable of raising undead but isn't exclusive to them. You could be a warrior who befriended an undead, an evil champion granted an undead companion by your deity, or an undead bloodline sorcerer undead are drawn to. The additional feats below are found in the beastmaster archetype. Whenever one of these additional feats refers to an animal companion, as an undead master, you apply it to your undead companion instead.

PFS StandardUndead SlayerDedication Feat 2

Source Book of the Dead pg. 28
Prerequisites trained in Religion
Anywhere undead prey upon the living, some brave souls make it their mission to destroy the monsters. Many adventurers are skilled at dispatching undead, but you go a step further. You study them, learn their weaknesses, and master the tools to end them quickly and cleanly. An undead slayer doesn't simply kill monsters; they become what even monsters fear. Leave it to others to be a shield—you become the blade that strikes evil at its heart. You can identify the common types of undead by sight. You drill and practice with the special gear necessary to destroy some of the more complicated undead, like vampires; train in their strengths and weaknesses; and learn how to create safe houses to stash your arsenal and hide from undead.

Some undead slayers work at the behest of an organization to exterminate the undead of a particular region, but many act independently, or in a group of like-minded adventurers. Were you called by a higher power? Are you on a personal quest for vengeance? Whatever the reason, you now walk a path that will take you to the vilest dens of rot and decay

PFS StandardUnexpected SharpshooterDedication Feat 2

Uncommon 
Source Guns & Gears pg. 142 2.0
Some people say you must be the luckiest soul in all of Golarion to still be alive and kicking after all the dangers you've seen. Others say that, given the circumstances and the number of foes who you've defeated seemingly by accident, that there's no way you can really be as incompetent as you seem. These critics claim there has to be some kind of angle, some racket you're running. Either way, you sure don't look or act dangerous, except possibly to yourself.

Somehow, despite your apparent clumsiness, professed confusion, and known propensity to incite calamity, you find yourself standing after every battle. The same can't often be said for your enemies. Funny how that works out, isn't it?

PFS StandardWeapon ImproviserDedication Feat 2

Source Advanced Player's Guide pg. 199 2.0
Prerequisites trained in all martial weapons
As far as you're concerned, the best weapon to wield is the one that your opponents never see coming. By knowing how to fight effectively with whatever's at hand, you ensure that you're never caught unarmed, and you often get the drop on opponents who mistakenly think they've caught you off guard.

Whether you're smashing someone over the head with a bar stool, tossing a mug of ale in their face to blind them, or stabbing your foes with a broken bottle, you can find weapons anywhere and employ them creatively whenever a fight breaks out. Because you fight with disposable weapons, you don't need to be as careful with your weapons as other warriors do, and you can break them when needed to win a fight without feeling any regrets later.

PFS StandardWrestlerDedication Feat 2

Source Grand Bazaar pg. 126
Prerequisites trained in Athletics; trained in unarmed attacks, and unarmored defense
Wrestlers are athletes who pit their strength and skill against powerful foes. Specializing in a variety of grabs, holds, and strikes, wrestlers are dangerous opponents whose techniques can leave a foe broken and defeated without taking their life.

The wrestling tradition is common all over Golarion. Gladiators and other warriors who fight for entertainment use wrestling techniques in combat. The discipline's focus on grappling is also useful in non-gladiatorial matches, as many foes are unable to contend with an opponent's hold. Grappling is particularly effective against spellcasters, who have a difficult time completing the somatic components of their spells while grabbed.

Wrestlers have storied traditions in the Hold of Belkzen, where orcs use specialized grappling techniques to subdue the large animals they ride as mounts. Orcs prefer wrestling these creatures partially to minimize harm to them, but also because they believe that the process of subduing the creature creates a stronger bond between mount and rider.

Outside of the Inner Sea, wrestlers are common in Iblydos and Arcadia. Iblydan wrestlers focus on grappling techniques to make sure they're never left without a means to fight on the battlefield, even if their weapons are destroyed. Arcadian wrestlers engage in matches designed to retell stories of ancient gods. These matches feature impressive acrobatic feats as well as highly technical grappling maneuvers.