Pathfinder Chronicles - Faction Guide (oef).pdf - WORLDWAKE

Pathfinder Chronicles: Faction Guide
va R i s i a n wa n d e R e R s
The native clans of Varisia have wandered without
a permanent home since the Age of Darkness, and
exploring the world for 5 millennia has created a culture
of wanderlust and strong family bonds. They walk with the
wind at their backs and songs in their hearts. To outsiders,
they appear to be insular and untrustworthy, obeying no
laws but their own. But for insiders, the clans are a support
network stretching across Varisia and beyond, offering
ancient magic, modern gossip, transportation, trade goods,
protection, prophecy, and loyal company. Most importantly,
they offer guidance to all the secret places of Golarion.
go a l: on e Mo R e Ro a d
Varisians want to see it all—a simple goal but one that’s far
from easy. As an old Varisian saying goes, “It is easier to
grow a f lower at night than to grow a man without travel.”
They value freedom and experience over temporal wealth,
and new exploits require health, freedom, and someone
to share them with. Each clan fosters these traits in its
own way, usually through strong family bonds. Anything
that restricts these virtues is anathema. Though largely
independent, caravans band together to resolve larger
threats to the open road, be it a plague, a washed out trail,
or greedy settlers.
al i g n M e n t: cn
The wandering clans have little organization beyond
family lines and a handful of major festivals. Even within
a single clan, inf luences and priorities shift as casually as
the weather, and a stay in town may become a cross-country
journey on as little as an hour’s notice. To most Varisians,
the world isn’t seen as black or white, but rather as varying
degrees of loyalty and separation from the self. A Varisian
might fight fiercely with a sibling, only to team up with
that sibling against an uncle, and the siblings might ally
with their uncle in turn to deal with an outside threat.
le a d e R
Individual Wanderer families have little inf luence over
one another, but all Wanderers respect the words of skilled
fortune-tellers called “harrowers.” Each clan supports
at least one of these harrowers, who serve as advisors,
teachers, and lawgivers for younger Wanderers. Harrowers
earn their positions through guile, experience, and a gift
for fortune-telling. Many have strange dealings with the
Shoanti, or bargain with ghosts and spirits, while others
spent their youth dallying with fey. Few of these matriarchs
remain completely sane, and they cloak their advice and
prophecies in poetry, nonsensical babble, or dirty jokes.
50
go o d cl a s s ch o i c e s
Bard, Rogue, Sorcerer
ch a l l e n g i n g cl a s s ch o i c e s
Barbarian, Paladin
he a d q ua Rt e R s
While Varisian caravans know no permanent home, most
stop at least once a year in Magnimar, camping either
outside the city walls or within one of several large areas
inside the city set aside for Varisian tents. Built on a
crossroads of travel, Magnimar has been a stopping-place
for Varisians for more than a thousand years, and the
fact that interlopers have built permanent structures on
“their” land vexes them greatly. For 1 week after the spring
rains subside, dozens of caravans gather at the city to trade,
dance, exchange stories, intermarry, and pay homage to
their goddess, Desna.
Jo i n i n g
The Wanderers rarely let non-Varisians join their familylike
organization. While they will trade news and wealth
with those who treat them well and respect their wandering
ways, only under unusual circumstances do they let an
outsider become part of the clan—such as a hero saving
the life of a family elder.
ga i n i n g PR e s t i g e
The Wanderers respect those who walk the roads as they
do, protect the interests of Wanderer communities, destroy
barriers to trade and travel, and give them lore useful to
their history and journeys in life. They also look favorably
on those who serve the goddess Desna.
Re s o u Rc e s
Though the Wanderers are knowledgeable about travel in
most parts of the world, outsiders are often most interested
in their unusual magic, such as their knowledge of the
Harrow deck and the art of tattooing.
5 TPA, 5 CPA: Gain a permanent +5 bonus on Knowledge
(geography) checks relating to travel in and near civilized
areas of a particular country or Knowledge (local) checks
relating to a particular settlement. This bonus does not
stack with the +4 bonus on one check listed on page 55.
This benefit requires 1 week of study with a group of
Varisian Wanderers knowledgeable about the chosen
location. A character can select this multiple times; each
time it applies to a new country or settlement.
5 CPA: Gain a Varisian tattoo that grants the character
the ability to cast a 0-level spell from the sorcerer/wizard
spell list three times per day. The caster level for this ability
is equal to the character’s level. The save DC for this spell
is 10 + the character’s Intelligence or Charisma modifier.