Crafting (Int)

You can use this skill to create and repair items. Even if you’re untrained, you can Recall Knowledge.
• Recall Knowledge (page 231) about alchemical reactions, the value of items, engineering, unusual materials, and alchemical or mechanical creatures. The GM
determines which creatures this applies to, but it usually includes constructs.
• Repair [10 min] (Crafting U)
Exploration Manipulate
Requirements: Holding or wearing Repair Toolkit. Item is not Destroyed.
Fix a dmged item, this requires both hands, a Repair Toolkit, and a flat surface like a table or tree stump. DM sets DC, usually same DC to Craft.
Repair Untrained Trained Expert Master Legendary
Crit 10 hp 20 hp 30 hp 40 hp 50 hp
Success 5 hp 10 hp 15 hp 20 hp 25 hp
Fumble Deal 2d6 dmg to item. Apply Hardness to dmg.

FORMULAS
A written formula for an item helps you create it with less difficulty. This has two functions. First, it reduces the time needed to start Crafting from 2 days to 1, as you
have less preparation to do.
• Craft (Crafting T)
Downtime Manipulate
Can make an item from raw materials.
To Craft must meet following requirements:
 Item is lvl or less. If item doesn’t list a lvl then it is 0. Expert to craft 6+ lvl, Master to craft 9+ lvl, and Legendary to craft 16+ lvl.
 Have formula for item. Don't need formula if in a settlement and Common item of settlement's lvl or less, or item of settlement's lvl or less to which have access.
 -2 Circumstance to Craft, If don’t have the appropriate environment (Smithy to forge a metal shield, Alchemist’s lab to create Alchemical Items, etc.).
 -2 Status to Craft, If don’t have the appropriate Crafting Skill Feat. (Crafting, Alchemical for Alchemical Items, Crafting, Magical for Magic Items, and Crafting, Snares for Snares)
 -2 Item to Craft, If don’t have the appropriate toolkit to craft item (Toolkit, Alchemist, etc.).
 Does not have Fatigued condition.
DM determines Craft DC of item based on lvl, rarity, and any other circumstances.
1. Can rush Item during crafting process to detriment of its sale value. If rush crafting process, reduce value of materials needed to complete item by x10, though item gains Tinkered
trait, causing it to have no market Price.
2. Supply raw materials worth 40% item’s Price. Can use Lore skill or other appropriate check and Crafting Material Cost Reduction to pay this cost making checks as needed. If in a
settlement, can usually spend currency to get amount of raw materials needed, except in case of rarer precious materials.
3. Spend Initial Time & attempt a Crafting check. (T) 1 day/item lvl (lvl 0 is 1/2 day), (E) 1/2 day/item lvl (lvl 0 is 1/4 day), (M) 1/4 day/item lvl (lvl 0 is 1/8 day), (L) 1/8 day/item lvl (lvl 0 is
1
/16 day). Initial Time is ½ if have Formula
 Crit: Attempt successful. Add +1 days activity’s Cost to project’s Current Value.
 Success: Attempt successful.
 Fail: Attempt Fail. Can salvage raw materials supplied for their full value. Must start over to try again.
 Fumble: Attempt Fail. Ruin 10% of raw materials supplied, can salvage rest. Must start over to try again.
4. This is project’s Current Value, and it will increase when completing Crafting checks. When Current Value equals item’s Price, project is complete.
5. If in a settlement, can pay remaining portion of item’s Price in materials to complete item immediately if item is settlements lvl or less, or can spend added downtime days working.
6. Choose amount of time to spend crafting: 1 day, 1 week, 1 month. Time spent, along with lvl, determines max Cost of this activity. At end of duration, make a Craft check.
 Crit: Attempt successful. Add x2 this activity’s Cost to project’s Current Value.
 Success: Attempt successful. Add this activity’s Cost to project’s Current Value.
 Fail: Attempt Fail. Add ½ this activity’s Cost to project’s Current Value.
 Fumble: Attempt Fail. Deduct this activity’s Cost from project’s Current Value. If this reduces project’s Current Value below 0, project is ruined and must be started again.
7. If difference between project’s Current Value and its Price is less than this activity’s max Cost, can forgo Crafting check.
May Make Shoddy Item

CRAFT
DOWNTIME MANIPULATE
You can make an item from raw materials. You need the Alchemical Crafting skill feat to create alchemical items and the Magical Crafting skill feat to create magic
items. To Craft an item, you must meet the following requirements:
• The item is your level or lower. An item that doesn’t list a level is level 0. If the item is 9th level or higher, you must be a master in Crafting, and if it’s 17th or higher,
you must be legendary.
• The item must be common, or you must otherwise have access to it.
• You have an appropriate set of tools and, in many cases, a workshop. For example, you need access to a smithy to forge a metal shield, or an alchemist’s lab to produce
alchemical items.
• You must supply raw materials worth at least half the item’s Price. You always expend at least that amount of raw materials when you Craft successfully. If you’re in a
settlement, you can usually spend currency to get the amount of raw materials you need, except in the case of rarer precious materials.
You attempt a Crafting check after you spend 2 days of work setting up, or 1 day if you have the item’s formula. The GM determines the DC to Craft the item based on
its level, rarity, and other circumstances.
If your attempt to create the item is successful, you expend the raw materials you supplied. You can pay the remaining portion of the item’s Price in materials to
complete the item immediately, or you can spend additional downtime days working on it. For each additional day you spend, reduce the value of the materials you
need to expend to complete the item. This amount is determined using the Income Earned table (page 229), based on your proficiency rank in Crafting and using your
own level instead of a task level. After any of these downtime days, you can complete the item by spending the remaining portion of its Price in materials. If the
downtime days you spend are interrupted, you can return to finish the item later, continuing where you left off. An example of Crafting appears in the sidebar below.
Critical Success Your attempt is successful. Each additional day spent Crafting reduces the materials needed to complete the item by an amount based on your level + 1
and your proficiency rank in Crafting.
Success Your attempt is successful. Each additional day spent Crafting reduces the materials needed to complete the item by an amount based on your level and your
proficiency rank.
Failure You fail to complete the item. You can salvage the raw materials you supplied for their full value. If you want to try again, you must start over.
Critical Failure You fail to complete the item. You ruin 10% of the raw materials you supplied, but you can salvage the rest. If you want to try again, you must start over.

Consumables and Ammunition

• Craft Consumable items in batches up to 4 of same item at once with a single check. Must include raw materials for all items in batch at start and must complete batch all at once.
• Any consumable that is not made in a batch treats its lvl as ½ normal.
• Craft ammunition in batches, using quantity listed (typically 10).

Crafting Material Cost Reduction

(T) (M) (M) (M) (L) (L)
Lvl (T) Day (T) Week (E) Day (E) Week (E) Month (L) Month
Month Day Week Month Day Week
 1 4 sp 2 gp, 8 sp 11 gp, 2 sp 8 sp 5 gp, 6 sp 22 gp, 4 sp
2 6 sp 4 gp, 2 sp 16 gp, 8 sp 1 gp, 2 sp 8 gp, 4 sp 33 gp, 6 sp
3 1 gp 7 gp 28 gp 2 gp 14 gp 56 gp
4 1 gp, 5 sp 10 gp, 5 sp 42 gp 3 gp 21 gp 84 gp
5 2 gp 14 gp 56 gp 4 gp 28 gp 112 gp
6 3 gp 21 gp 84 gp 6 gp 42 gp 168 gp
7 4 gp 28 gp 112 gp 8 gp 56 gp 224 gp 16 gp 112 gp 448 gp
8 5 gp 35 gp 140 gp 10 gp 70 gp 280 gp 20 gp 140 gp 560 gp
9 6 gp 42 gp 168 gp 12 gp 84 gp 336 gp 24 gp 168 gp 672 gp
10 7 gp 49 gp 196 gp 14 gp 98 gp 392 gp 28 gp 196 gp 784 gp
11 10 gp 70 gp 280 gp 20 gp 140 gp 560 gp 40 gp 280 gp 1120 gp
12 12 gp 84 gp 336 gp 24 gp 168 gp 672 gp 48 gp 336 gp 1344 gp
13 14 gp 98 gp 392 gp 28 gp 196 gp 784 gp 56 gp 392 gp 1568 gp
14 16 gp 112 gp 448 gp 32 gp 224 gp 896 gp 64 gp 448 gp 1792 gp
15 20 gp 140 gp 560 gp 40 gp 280 gp 1120 gp 80 gp 560 gp 2240 gp 160 gp 1120 gp 4480 gp
16 26 gp 182 gp 728 gp 52 gp 364 gp 1456 gp 104 gp 728 gp 2912 gp 208 gp 1456 gp 5824 gp
17 30 gp 210 gp 840 gp 60 gp 420 gp 1680 gp 120 gp 840 gp 3360 gp 240 gp 1680 gp 6720 gp
18 40 gp 280 gp 1120 gp 80 gp 560 gp 2240 gp 160 gp 1120 gp 4480 gp 320 gp 2240 gp 8960 gp
19 60 gp 420 gp 1680 gp 120 gp 840 gp 3360 gp 240 gp 1680 gp 6720 gp 480 gp 3360 gp 13440 gp
20 80 gp 560 gp 2240 gp 160 gp 1120 gp 4480 gp 320 gp 2240 gp 8960 gp 640 gp 4480 gp 17920 gp
 Day
Use a Day (or Daily) check whenever crafting during downtime for less than a week.
 Week
Use a Week (or Weekly) check whenever crafting during downtime for a week.
 Month
Use a Month (or Monthly) check whenever crafting during downtime for a Month or more.

• Material Trove
If frequently use the Craft activity as an Exploration activity - or on road where materials can’t easily be bought - it can be tedious to track available materials and their values. The Material
Trove provides a streamlined way to track common crafting materials.
A Material Trove stores general-purpose crafting materials. Amount and quality of these materials are represented by a value in gp. This value can be increased by purchasing generic crafting
materials with currency or by using Lore skill or other appropriate check and Crafting Material Cost Reduction to add to this cost making checks as needed. Contents of a Material Trove can
only be used to Craft.

• Trove Bulk
An alchemist that stays in town with a dedicated workspace always has convenient access to materials and space to store them. However, an adventurer on road may be forced to
travel light, with space for their materials confined to a wagon or backpack.
If need to determine Bulk of Material Trove, consult Crafting Material Cost Reduction table. Materials worth listed Week limit for current lvl take up 2 Bulk. Since crafters of a
higher lvl create higher-lvl items, and higher-lvl items require more expensive and high-quality materials, higher-lvl characters store more value in same amount of space.
This rule can be used to determine value of a trove with any given bulk or bulk of a trove worth any amount.
Example Trove
4th lvl Expert crafter can fill a chest with a 2 Bulk Artisan’s Toolkit and a 6 Bulk trove. This trove would be worth 63 gp and could be used for 3 weeks of crafting. If this same
chest was filled by an 8th lvl Master crafter, their 6 Bulk trove would be worth 420 gp, but it would still be sufficient for 3 weeks of crafting.

• Formulas
Formulas are instructions for producing items with Craft and Quick Craft activities. A collection of formulas is called a formula book, though it need not be an actual book or anything
resembling one. A purchased formula is typically a schematic on rolled-up parchment of light Bulk. Like any other item, formulas can be purchased and made with Craft activity, though can't
make a temp formula with Quick Craft activity. A formula's lvl and rarity are equal to that of item it produces, and its price is listed below. Crafting a formula generally requires reverse
engineering item it produces or copying another formula for same item. Can't Craft a formula for a unique item, and formulas for such items do not exist.

• Buying Formulas
Item Formula Item Formula
Lvl Price Lvl Price
0* 5 sp 11 70 gp
1 1 gp 12 100 gp
2 2 gp 13 150 gp
3 3 gp 14 225 gp
4 5 gp 15 325 gp
5 8 gp 16 500 gp
6 13 gp 17 750 gp
7 18 gp 18 1,200 gp
8 25 gp 19 2,000 gp
9 35 gp 20 3,500 gp
10 50 gp
* Formulas for all 0 lvl Common items can be
purchased collectively in a basic crafter’s book.

• Copy Formula [1 hr] (Crafting T)

Copy a formula into formula book either from a schematic or directly from someone else’s formula book.

• Reverse-Engineer Formula [Same time as Crafting Item] (Crafting T)

If have an item, can try to reverse-engineer its formula. Must first disassemble item. After base downtime, attempt Crafting check vs same DC it would take to Craft
item.
 Success: Craft formula at its full Price and can keep working to reduce Price as normal.
 Fail: Left with raw materials and no formula.
 Fumble: Left with 90% of raw materials and no formula.
Item’s disassembled parts are worth half its Price in raw materials and can’t be reassembled unless successfully reverse-engineer formula or acquire formula another
way. Reassembling item from formula works just like Crafting it from scratch; use disassembled parts as necessary raw materials.
Complex Crafting

The Craft action as presented in the Core Rulebook works at a simple rate: you can Craft any item, regardless of the item level, in exactly 4 days, spending additional
time for a discount on the item's final cost. While easy to implement at the table, this system focuses on simplicity and leaves some avenues unexplored. For example,
items of the highest possible level (your own level) provide you far more value for those 4 days than lower-level items. In addition, the system provides few options for
players to attempt to craft an item quickly, even if doing so comes with risk of failure. This complex crafting variant is suitable for groups who view crafting items as a
central part of their play experience. For most groups, the simpler crafting system is probably sufficient to complete the occasional item.

This variant adds a choice to the system of crafting, allowing characters to decide how they want to approach a job, taking a slow and methodical approach or rushing
the process and risking loss of material or even the creation of a cursed item! This system also incorporates changes in time based on the item's level and whether it's a
consumable item or a permanent item.

To begin, you must meet all of the requirements listed in the Craft action of the Crafting skill. At the start of the process, you must determine the setup time based on the
type of item and its level compared to yours, then decide on your approach to the job, which is limited by your proficiency. The GM determines the base DC as normal
based on the item's level, rarity, and other circumstances.

To determine setup time, check the item's level and whether it's a consumable or permanent item. Compare the item's level to your own and look for the number of days
on Table 5–1. This setup time is the base number of days it takes to create the item. If you decide to take the slow and methodical approach, you spend that number of
days, and then attempt the Crafting check to determine your success (see Finishing the Item).

You can instead rush the process, taking days off the time needed to setup the item while introducing a greater risk of failure. If you're at least an Expert in Crafting, you
can reduce the setup time by 1 day by increasing the DC by 5. If you're at least a Master in Crafting, you can reduce the setup time by 2 days by increasing the DC by
10. If you're Legendary in Crafting, you can reduce the setup time by 3 days by increasing the DC by 15. If you're crafting a consumable, and this reduction would bring
the number of days to 0 or less, the crafting time is instead reduced to 4 hours.

TABLE 5-1: Days of Setup Time

Item's Relative Level Consumable Permanent

Equal to your level 4 6

Your level –1 or –2 3 5

Your level –3 or lower 2 4 Finishing the Item

After the setup time is complete, you must attempt a Crafting check to determine the overall success of your creation. If your check is a success, you expend the raw
materials and can complete the item immediately by paying the remaining portion of the item's Price in materials. Alternatively, you can spend additional downtime
days working on the item.

For each additional day you spend, reduce the value of the materials you need to expend to complete the item. This value reduction is determined using Table 4–2:
Income Earned, based on your proficiency rank in Crafting and using your own level instead of a task level. After any of these downtime days, you can complete the
item by spending the remaining portion of its Price in materials. If the time is interrupted, you can return to finish the item later, continuing where you left off.

You can decide to speed up this process as well. If you are at least an Expert in Crafting, you can rush the finishing process, reducing the value of the materials you
must expend to complete the item by twice the amount listed in Table 4–2: Income Earned on page 236 of the Core Rulebook. Doing so comes at a risk; at the end of
the creation process, once the item is finished, you must attempt a flat check. The DC of this flat check is equal to 10 + the item's level – your Crafting proficiency
bonus. If the check is a success or critical success, the item is complete and works perfectly. If the check is a failure, the item is still completed, but it gains a . If the
check is a critical failure, the item is ruined or might become a cursed item attached to you (GM's discretion).

Crafting Items with Adjustments

Adjustments are item modifications that can provide specific special abilities to a particular type of equipment. Instead of crafting adjustments separately from a suit of
armor, you can simply craft the armor with the adjustment already in place by adding the price of the adjustment to the total crafting cost of the base armor and
calculating the rest of the crafting process as normal.

Skill Feats

When using this variant, consider allowing the following skill feat to enable characters to Craft exceptionally low-level items even more quickly. This skill feat is listed
as rare and is never available to a character except when using this variant. This rapid form of crafting could cause your players to end up with higher treasure values or
more items than an adventure expects them to have, so be careful about allowing this feat in campaigns that already provide significant amounts of downtime.

Quick Setup

FEAT 7

[–]

rare general skill

Prerequisites master in Crafting

You have learned to setup simple crafting jobs with ease. Your setup time for consumables that are at least 6 levels lower than you is 1 day, and your setup time for
permanent items 6 levels lower than you is 3 days.

If you rush the setup and reduce the setup time for consumables at least 6 levels lower than you to less than 1 day, you can instead set them up in just 2 hours (allowing
you to do so during an adventuring day if you have access to your tools and materials). If you rush the setup of a permanent item at least 6 levels lower than you and
reduce the setup time to less than 1 day, you can perform the setup in 4 hours.

Treasure Vault, page 158.

Converting Magic Items

Many magic items found by higher-level characters never see play, destined instead to live at the bottom of a backpack, forgotten and unused. Others are quickly sold to
fund the purchase of a more appropriate item. Others still are so irredeemably evil that selling them is an unconscionable act, and the item ends up being destroyed. All
of these situations can make it difficult for the GM to properly calculate and balance the party's wealth, which can lead to imbalanced encounters and other problems at
the table.

This variant simplifies the problem by giving the players another option for items that they don't intend to use, allowing them to break an item down and recycle its
parts for the creation of another item.

When breaking down an item, you have a choice on how to proceed. You can immediately use the components to create an item with a similar theme to the one that you
deconstructed, or you can save the components for use in any one item created later. If you create a similar item, such as deconstructing a magic weapon in order to
create a different but similar type of magic weapon, you can harvest more of the components and residual magic for the new item, giving you more in return than you
might otherwise get by simply harvesting the best parts of an item.

The GM determines whether the new item is similar enough to warrant this benefit, but the new item should be similar either in ability or in general theme. For
example, deconstructing a cloak of the bat to create winged boots certainly qualifies, as does deconstructing a ring of climbing to create slippers of spider climb. Items
of the same general type might qualify, but only if their abilities are thematically similar.

Generic components can be saved for later, but they can't be combined with other components from another deconstructed item. If excess value remains after making a
new item, that value is lost, as the remaining parts are just the leftover bits, with the best parts being used for the new creation. The deconstructed item has the same
Bulk as the original. GMs might want to put an expiration date on deconstructed items to prevent too many of them from piling up in character inventories, but unless
players are breaking down items all the time, it shouldn't be a problem.

Deconstruct

[–]

rare downtime

You deconstruct an item to provide the starting point to convert it into a new item. You need the Alchemical Crafting skill feat to deconstruct alchemical items and
the Magical Crafting skill feat to deconstruct magic items.

To Deconstruct an item, you must meet the following requirements.

 The item is your level or lower. An item that doesn't list a level is level 0. If the item is 9th level or higher, you must be a master in Crafting, and if it's 16th
or higher, you must be legendary.

 The item isn't a cursed item, artifact, or other item that is similarly hard to destroy. The item isn't a consumable item.

 The item has a listed Price.

 You must have an appropriate set of tools and, in many cases, a workshop. For example, you need access to a smithy to deconstruct a metal shield or an
alchemist's lab to de-concoct alchemical items.

At the start of this process, you must decide if you're using the deconstructed item to build a new, similar item, of if you are simply breaking it down for raw ingredients
that can be used at a later date for any item. In either case, this activity takes 1 day to perform, but if you're using the item to create a new, similar item, that day can be
counted as one of the crafting days for the new item.

At the end of the activity, you must attempt a Crafting check. The GM sets the DC of this check based on the level of the item you are attempting to deconstruct, its
rarity, and other circumstances.

Critical Success If you are deconstructing the item to make a new, similar item, you can apply 80% of the cost of the deconstructed item to the new item. If you are
deconstructing the item for raw materials alone, you can apply 55% of the cost of the deconstructed item to a single new item. In either case, if this is in excess of the
new item's cost, the remainder is lost.Success As critical success, but you can only apply 75% of the deconstructed item's cost to the new similar item and 50% of the
deconstructed item's cost to any single item.Failure You fail to deconstruct the item, wasting your time. You can try again.Critical Failure You fail to deconstruct the
item and damage it in the process. You must either repair it before attempting again, or you can attempt to deconstruct it again but lose 5% of the value of the item.
Treasure Vault, page 162.

Complex Crafting

Plenty of things can happen during downtime that might derail your efforts or complicate your plans. When crafting, it might be easy enough to put down the creation
and deal with a problem, but sometimes these events can threaten the project itself. The Gamemastery Guide provides three examples of downtime events related to
crafting: a delayed shipment of materials, a superlative work drawing attention from collectors, or the discovery of a new and efficient crafting technique. Even adding
these to the events around earning income (which are generally applicable), a group that spends a great deal of time crafting might find these to be repetitive. The
following downtime events are tied directly to the crafting process and should be used to supplement those found on page 25 of the Gamemastery Guide.

TABLE 5-2: Crafting Downtime Events

d20

Event

1–3 Select an event from the Gamemastery Guide

4 Annoying interloper

5 Banned ingredient

6 Delicate components

7 Formula contradiction

8 Infestation

9 Instability within

10 Mutation

11 Name dependence

12 Natural disaster

13 Otherworldly interference

14 Overwhelming energy

15 Planar convergence

16 Resonant magic

17 Spirit magnet

18 Suspicious offer

19 Technical challenge

20 Unexpected flaw

Annoying Interloper: Whether it's a nosy relative, gossipy friend, finicky safety inspector, or any other sort of guest, the crafter's workshop has attracted the attention
of an annoying interloper. It's someone the crafter can't just kick out unceremoniously, either. The situation might require roleplaying, as well as Diplomacy,
Intimidation, or other skills, before the crafter can get back to work.

Banned Ingredient: The crafter realizes that one of the ingredients they need for the items they're crafting is banned or heavily restricted in the local area. If they've
already crafted the same item here without a problem before, maybe it's a new ban or they had to refill their stores of a tricky ingredient—or you can just reroll this
event and save it for when they build something new. To deal with the banned ingredient, the crafter might have to engage in shady dealings on the black market, lobby
for the ingredient's ban to be lifted (especially if the ban is suspicious or prevents the general public from crafting an important item like healing potions), travel abroad
where the restriction doesn't exist, or try to devise a substitution.

Delicate Components: Whether it's just the nature of one or more components that make up this item, or the crafter just received a fragile batch, the components the
crafter is dealing with are incredibly delicate. The crafter might need to use Thievery (or find someone who can) to handle the sensitive components gently, or else find
some way to reinforce the ingredient or the equipment in which it is stored for later use.

Formula Contradiction: The crafter runs into an issue in their formula book. The formula includes two (or more) contradictory instructions, and as a result, they must
pause their work while they try to figure out the contradiction. Which one is correct? Is neither right? Are they both functional and the crafter must refine their
understanding of the process? This event might involve research or dangerous experimentation.
Infestation:: Some sort of infestation of vermin, spores, or other troublesome contaminants threatens the crafting project and perhaps other portions of the crafter's
workshop. On top of protecting their in-process project from being damaged by the infestation, they'll eventually also need to find the infestation's source and put a stop
to it. Was it a coincidence, or did someone use mundane or magical means to bring it here on purpose?

Instability Within: The magic or mechanics inside the item have grown increasingly powerful and unstable, and the crafter isn't sure why. The cause could be a simple
mistake, an instability in the crafter's own magic, or even just a coincidence. Whatever the case, the crafter must investigate the source of the instability to fix and,
potentially, take advantage of it.

Mutation:: The item has undergone a mutation and is now on its way to becoming a different item—maybe even an item of a higher level than the crafter can normally
craft or that is uncommon, rare, intelligent, or otherwise outside of the crafter's normal ability to create. Be very careful when choosing this as an event; ideally, you as
the GM want the mutated item to be something you specifically chose to be interesting, rather than an item at random, since presumably the crafter was choosing to
create the best item they could think of. That said, the crafter can either find a way to halt the mutation process or lean into it and see what the item becomes!

Name Dependence: The item's progress is stalled due to the fact that its magic requires it to gain a name—and not just any random nickname that pops into the crafter's
head! The crafter must engage in serious contemplation to select a name that suits the item, as it will be attached to it forevermore. Once chosen, if the item accepts the
name, the crafting process can continue. The choice of the name might have other implications as well; for instance, if the item has a command activation, it might
require shouting the item's name.

Natural Disaster: A huge natural disaster is about to hit the workshop. Whether it's a tsunami, a tornado, an earthquake, a volcanic eruption, or something else, it
represents a huge danger to the crafting process, and potentially the crafter's life. On the other hand, it could also be an opportunity to harness the power of the natural
disaster into the item! Consider allowing the crafter to attempt a Recall Knowledge check to remember some formulas that discuss special benefits for harnessing a
disaster and offer them a reward (extra progress on the item, an improved item, or something else) to tempt them into staying in the path of danger.

Otherworldly Interference: Be they deities, celestials, fiends, monitors, or other extraplanar entities, Golarion is full of a surprising number of beings from other
worlds that attempt to sow mischief, cause mayhem, or offer assistance to its inhabitants. The crafter is one such lucky or unlucky mortal who now has to deal with this
otherworldly interference. Even if the otherworldly creature is trying to help, it might not understand mortals well enough to do so effectively. This could possibly
create even more trouble than an entity who was trying to sabotage the process, since a crafter can at least root out such a perpetrator and stop them decisively.

Overwhelming Energy: There's just too much magical or mechanical energy building up in the item. That could be a good thing, as it could eventually grant the item
more power or provide additional progress, but it's also extremely dangerous, as the energy threatens to overload and cause the item to explode, wasting the crafter's
initial investment. They'll have to carefully figure out a way to use the energy (or at least discharge it harmlessly) to protect the item.

Planar Convergence: Many planes of existence overlap with the Material Plane at certain points. Sometimes, those points drift as the planes move and shift, leading to
planar convergences where the veil between two planes draws especially thin. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for the crafter, one such planar convergence passes
over their workshop. If they're crafting a related item, they might be able to take advantage of the convergence, but otherwise, they'll need to insulate the item from the
convergence or pack up and move far enough away to avoid it. Leaching out the energy from the convergence might even require them to find a location with a
convergence to an opposing plane.

Resonant Magic: When multiple sources of magic cluster together, for good or ill, magical resonance builds up between them. The crafting process is interrupted by
magical resonances in the workshop between the in-process item and other magic items or spells. The crafter can try to clear out or rearrange the sources of magic that
led to the resonance, or they can explore the resonance to try to unlock a new power in the item that only appears when the item is affected by the other items or spells
that caused the resonance; in this case, consider using the rules for item sets on page 200 or something similar.

Spirit Magnet: The item has become a magnet for minor disembodied beings, either spirits (beings formed of spiritual essence) or vitae (beings formed of nature's life
force, sometimes called "spirits of nature"). That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's certainly distracting, as the spirits interfere with the work and might wind up
possessing or otherwise merging with the item. The crafter needs to find a way to communicate with the spirits and warn them off or work with them to make the item
an even better conductor for spirits. In the worst case this could ruin the item's creation, but in the best case, the spirits could grant the item special powers or
intelligence.

Suspicious Offer: A questionable figure offers the crafter special ingredients or techniques that supposedly will shave time off the item's crafting process while
providing a steep discount on the necessary materials. But something about the offer—no, maybe everything about it—seems too good to be true. The crafter might
dismiss or accept the offer outright, but they also might try to determine the truth of the figure's claims, either by understanding their motives or performing a test.
Either way, if the crafter decides to use the mysterious figure's offer, you can decide what sorts of effects it might have. Who knows? Maybe it was genuine.

Technical Challenge: An unusual interaction during the item's creation provides a significant technical challenge. The crafter will have to pause and determine how to
proceed before continuing. There might be several possible approaches to the problem, each with different benefits or drawbacks.

Unexpected Flaw: Something within the item isn't functioning properly, and the crafter needs to first figure out what went wrong and why. Were some of the
components faulty? Did someone tamper with the item? Did the crafter make a small error that cascaded? Once they can hunt down the flaw and figure out how to
prevent it in the future, they need to determine the most expedient way to fix it and bring the item back on track.

Treasure Vault, page 158.

Critical Crafting
The critical success and failure effects of the Craft activity are safe, reasonable effects that are appropriate any time a character wants to Craft: on a critical success, they
make more money per day Crafting, and on a critical failure, they ruin 10% of the item's raw materials. However, these monetary rewards and penalties are not the only
potential outcomes of crafting criticals. With this variant, you can consider rarely handing out custom critical success rewards and critical failure penalties appropriate
for the situation. However, you won't want to do this too often, especially since a high-level crafter who makes a lot of low-level items will critically succeed with some
frequency. If crafting is a big part of your game, consider limiting the special effects to natural 20s and 1s, and even then, only when a special item is being created.

Most often, the special critical success or failure effect will be something distinctive and appropriate to the exact situation in your campaign. For instance, if a PC Crafts
a commissioned sword for a prideful ruler obsessed with their heroic ancestor, perhaps on a critical success the item manages to call forth the spirit of the ancestor, who
nods gravely while acknowledging the sword. On a critical failure, the PC finishes the sword but accidentally includes a part of the heraldry of the traitorous noble
family that murdered the ancestor, enraging the monarch. As you can see from this example, the critical failure effects sometimes tend towards possibilities where the
item is still created despite failure, but its completion creates a serious problem that must be resolved. When using this system, consider rolling the checks to Craft the
item in secret to prevent a player's knowledge from influencing their decisions.

While it's usually best to invent your own special critical success or failure effects, here are a few examples of possibilities that can be used in a variety of
circumstances.

Critical Success

 The crafter's dazzling success and passion imbue a fragment of their self into the item, causing it to become an intelligent item.

 If the crafter was creating a max-level item, they can pay more to create an item above their level that they normally couldn't Craft. For instance, while
trying to Craft a wand of fireball (a 7th-level item), a 7th-level wizard might be able to create a wand of 4th-level fireball (a 9th-level item).

 The item has a minor beneficial special ability beyond other items of its type. This can be whatever you choose, but it's usually another minor activation with
a daily frequency. The benefit should be better than a quirk (as quirks are meant to be neutral).

 The item is so well made that it's nearly impossible to damage, doubling its Hardness or greatly increasing its total Hit Points. The item might also be
resistant to grime, tarnishing, or other cosmetic changes.

 The item is so beautifully made that it grants a bonus to Diplomacy and Intimidation checks when displayed or used as part of the check. Alternatively, it
could be worth more than usual just as an art object.

 The item is so finely crafted that it distracts the attention of opponents when used in battle, granting a bonus to checks made to Feint or Create a
Diversion when used as part of the check.

 The crafter is in tune with the object, its powers, and its potentials, turning it into a relic. In addition to its base abilities, the crafter can designate other
abilities that the object develops over time.

Critical Failure

 The crafter Crafts the item, but the item is secretly cursed.

 The crafter Crafts the item, but the item permanently drains a portion of the crafter's life force and resists attempts at destroying it, permanently reducing the
crafter's Hit Points until they complete a quest to destroy the item once and for all.

 The creation process explodes or otherwise exposes the crafter to significant harm with a long-term effect that demands interesting interplay to remove.
There's little point in dealing Hit Point damage during downtime, as it's usually trivial to restore it before adventuring.

 The Crafting process is so flawed that it draws a malevolent intelligence that chooses to complete the item and inhabit it. The intelligence of the item is
opposed to the crafter and attempts to secretly thwart them at every turn.

 The item appears perfectly normal and fully functional, but when someone attempts to use it for its intended purpose, it fails. For example, armor might fall
off, weapons might break, or a wand might simply emit an acrid, burning odor instead of the desired spell.

 The crafter is cursed by their own failure and takes a penalty to all future Crafting checks until they get a critical success or a casting of remove curse to end
the effect.

 The Crafting goes so poorly that it pollutes the nearby environment. This might mean that the workshop needs extensive cleaning to be usable again, or it
could be much worse, polluting the local water supply and making those who live nearby seriously ill.

Treasure Vault, page 161.

Deep Backgrounds
The decision of a character background is not necessarily a complicated one; the player simply selects from the available background options to reflect their
character's life before adventuring. While this is a good method for determining a character's backstory, some players might want more insight into their character's
early life or family.

Using Deep Backgrounds

This variant replaces Step 4 of Character Creation (Core Rulebook page 25). The player rolls on the tables in this section to determine their character's family
background, homeland, major childhood event, influential associate, relationships, and drawbacks. Each element of the player's background adds options to the final list
of ability boosts, skills, feats, and other options that their background can grant. The player writes these options down as they build their character's background. At the
end of the process, they select the following from among the options written down.

 Two ability boosts, each to a different ability score.

 Training in a Lore skill.

 One skill feat (or possibly another feat or piece of equipment). If the player chooses a skill feat, they become trained in its prerequisite skill, or one of its
possible prerequisite skills if it has multiple (such as Quick Identification). If the random results include a feat that isn't a skill feat and the player selects that
feat, they don't gain training in a skill. If they choose a piece of equipment instead of a skill feat, the entry indicates what skill training, if any, they receive.

Rerolling and Selecting

At your discretion, the players don't have to be bound by any results from the following tables. Depending on how your group wants to use deep backgrounds, players
can reroll any result they don't like, or even select a specific option from a table that fits their emerging vision of their character. However, if you allow players to reroll
or directly select options (and potentially even if you don't), you might want to exclude options that grant feats other than skill feats; these options are unusual enough
that they might put too much pressure on players to select only these options. Note that the following tables reflect the Core Rulebook and the Age of Lost Omens
setting—if your game takes place in a different setting, feel free to adjust the tables or allow players to select the options that best fit your setting.

Generating Deep Backgrounds

As a player, follow the steps below to generate your character's deep background.

Step 1: Family Background

The word family means something different to everyone. You might have a biological family, adopted family, stepfamily, or any other kind and combination you
choose; family bonds come in all types. To determine the number of family members you grew up with as an active part of your life, roll 1d% on the following table.
Use the medium family for most ancestries, small if you're a half-elf or half-orc, and large if you're a goblin or halfling. For ancestries other than those in the Core
Rulebook, use the column that best suits the ancestry. It's up to you whether these family members are parents, siblings, grandparents, or other close relatives.

TABLE 4-5: Family Size

d%

Small Family

Medium Family

Large Family

1-4 0 0 0

5-8 0 0 1

9-20 0 0 2

21-34 0 1 3

35-39 1 2 3

40-50 1 2 4

51-60 2 3 4

61-65 2 3 5

66-69 2 4 5

70-78 3 4 5

79-80 4 4 6

81-87 4 5 6

88-90 5 5 6

91-93 5 6 7
94-95 6 6 7

96-97 6 7 7

98-99 7 7 8+

100 8+ 8+ 8+

 If you grew up with no family, you had to learn to survive on your own. Add a Strength ability boost and a Constitution ability boost to your options.

 If you grew up with one or two family members, your closeness to them made you highly aware of their feelings, and you. Add an Intelligence ability boost
and a Wisdom ability boost to your options.

 If you grew up with three or more family members, you had to mediate family conflicts and negotiate a crowded home. Add a Charisma ability boost and a
Dexterity ability boost to your options.

Step 2: Homeland

Where you grew up is highly formative. Roll on the following table to determine the nature of your homeland. If your character is a dwarf, subtract 3; if an elf, add 2; if
a goblin, subtract 4. For ancestries other than those in the Core Rulebook, apply a modifier that best suits the ancestry, if needed. Work with your GM to flesh your
homeland out in further detail. With any of these options, you add a Lore skill based on your homeland's terrain to your background options, such as Forest Lore for a
wooded frontier or Absalom Lore if you grew up in that city.

TABLE 4-6: Homeland

1d20 + (n)

Result

1 or less Underground You grew up in a partly or wholly underground region, such as a human mining town, a goblin warren, or a dwarf-held cavern.
Add Engineering Lore, Labor Lore, and Mining Lore to your background options.

2-3 Frontier You grew up at the edge of a settled region. This might have been isolated hills if you are a dwarf, a ranch or farm if you are a human, or another
similar frontier. Add Farming Lore, Fishing Lore, Hunting Lore, Scouting Lore, and Lore pertaining to a type of creature that threatened your homeland regularly (such
as Giant Lore) to your background options.

4-5 Trade Town People frequently passed through your homeland. You might have been raised near a major thoroughfare or crossroads, or in a small trade
town. Add Accounting Lore, Guild Lore, Mercantile Lore, Stabling Lore, and Lore of a common ancestry (such as Dwarf Lore) to your background options.

6-7 Simple Village You were raised in a sleepy village such as a bucolic gnome hamlet, a close-knit human town, or an established goblin fort. Add Herbalism
Lore, Midwifery Lore, Milling Lore, Tanning Lore, and Lore of a type of food, drink, or product the village was known for producing (such as Alcohol Lore or Wagon
Lore) to your background options.

8-9 Cosmopolitan City You were raised in a community where no single ancestry predominated. This might have created tensions, but the community might
also have pulled together from diverse foundations. Add Art Lore, Guild Lore, Legal Lore, and Underworld Lore to your background options.

10-11 Metropolis You grew up in one of the largest cities in the world, such as Absalom or Westcrown. Add Architecture Lore, Gladiatorial Lore, Guild
Lore, Legal Lore, and Theater Lore to your background options.

12 Front Lines You grew up in a homeland torn by war. Even if you didn't personally participate, it was never far away. Add Heraldry Lore, Scouting Lore,
and Warfare Lore to your background options.

13-14 Itinerant You never had a single place to call home. You might have been part of a nomadic caravan, a traveling group of entertainers, or a smuggling ring.
Add Circus Lore, Fortune-Telling Lore, Games Lore, Labor Lore, and Underworld Lore to your background options.

15 Another Ancestry's Settlement Randomly determine another common ancestry; you grew up surrounded by that ancestry. Reroll on this table (with a
modifier for the new ancestry, if applicable) to determine the type of community in which you grew up (for example, if your gnome grew up among dwarves and rolls a
3, they grew up underground). Add the Adopted Ancestry feat and the Lore skill related to your adopted ancestry (such as Dwarf Lore) to your background options. If
you select this feat instead of a skill feat, you aren't trained in a background skill.

16 Coastal Community You grew up along a wide river, in a wetland, beside an ocean, or on an island. Add Fishing Lore, Sailing Lore, and Lore of a specific
type of sea creature (such as Shark Lore) to your background options.

17-18 Religious Community You were raised in a community of religious scholars, such as the town around an abbey, a remote elven forest shrine, or a dwarven
temple-city. Add Art Lore, Scribing Lore, Lore about a deity that was the focus or enemy of your community (such as Pharasma Lore), and Lore about a plane (other
than the Material Plane) where that deity resides to your background options.

19+ Academic Community You were raised in or near a university, academy, or other center of learning. Add Academia Lore, Genealogy Lore, Library Lore,
and Scribing Lore to your background options.

Step 3: Major Childhood Event

During your childhood, you were influenced by a significant event that helped shape the person you became. Roll on the table below to determine the type of event that
shaped you.
TABLE 4-7: Major Childhood Event

1d20

Result

1 Abandoned in a Distant Land Due to some mischance (such as wandering off while on a trip or being press-ganged onto a seagoing ship), you had to
survive in a distant land for a while. Add the Multilingual skill feat to your background options.

2 Academy Trained You attended an academy where you studied a number of topics and skills. Whether you were a studious pupil or a dropout, the academy
was your home for a good portion of your formative years. Add the Additional Lore skill feat to your background options. If you select Additional Lore as your skill
feat, instead of becoming trained in Lore, you become trained in your choice of Arcana, Occultism, or Society.

3 Attained a Magical Gift When you were a child, you found, stole, or were given a magic item that gave you an extraordinary ability. Add the Arcane
Sense skill feat to your background options.

4 Betrayed A friend or family member whom you trusted more than anyone else betrayed you. Add the Lie to Me skill feat to your background options.

5 Bullied In your early life, you were often picked on. The callousness of bullies sharpened your resolve to stand up for yourself and others. Add
the Intimidating Glare skill feat to your background options.

6 Captured by Giants You were captured by marauding giants and fought your way free. Add the Titan Wrestler skill feat to your background options.

7 Claimed an Inheritance You were bequeathed great wealth or property at an early age. You retained some of it; add a piece of common adventuring gear
worth 15 gp or less to your background options. If you select it instead of a skill feat, you are trained in Society.

8 Died You died or came so close that you walked the boundary between life and death. Add the Diehard feat to your background options. If you select it
instead of a skill feat, you aren't trained in a background skill.

9 Fell In with a Bad Crowd In your youth, you ran with a criminal element: a gang, thieves' guild, or similar organization. Add the Experienced
Smuggler skill feat to your background options.

10 Had an Ordinary Childhood Your childhood was fairly ordinary, with no major catastrophe—a stark contrast to most adventurers. Add the Assurance skill
feat for a skill of your choice to your background options.

11 Had Your First Kill You've had blood on your hands since your youth, when you first took the life of another. You still have the weapon you used for the
deed; add a common weapon worth 15 gp or less to your background options. If you select this option instead of a skill feat, you are trained in Athletics.

12 Kidnapped You were kidnapped at some point in your childhood and had to escape, perhaps by pirates, slavers, a cult, or someone else. Add the Quick
Squeeze skill feat to your background options.

13 Lost in the Wilderness Whether lured to the wilderness by a malevolent force or simply lost, you had to survive on your own for a while. Add the Survey
Wildlife skill feat to your background options.

14 Met a Fantastic Creature When you were a child, you made contact with a magical creature, such as a dragon, unicorn, genie, pixie, or similar creature.
Add the Recognize Spell skill feat to your background options.

15 Raided A horde of raiders attacked your settlement and killed and wounded several of your people. This could have been a band of highway robbers or a
conquering army. You have a relic from those times; add an armor or shield worth 15 gp or less to your background options. If you select this option instead of a skill
feat, you are trained in Medicine.

16 Robbed Your family's possessions were stolen, and you vowed to catch the next burglar in the act. Add the Snare Crafting skill feat to your background
options.

17 Survived a Disaster You witnessed and survived a major disaster in your childhood years—such as a great fire, flood, earthquake, volcano, or storm—by
relying on what was at hand. Add the Quick Repair skill feat to your background options.

18 Trained by a Mentor A mentor or patron took an interest in your development and volunteered to train or sponsor you. Add the Experienced
Professional skill feat to your background options.

19 Witnessed War You grew up against the backdrop of a major military conflict that affected much of your childhood world. Add the Battle Medicine skill
feat to your background options.

20 Won a Competition You distinguished yourself at an early age when you won a competition. This might have been a martial contest of arms, a showing of
apprentice magicians, high-stakes gambling, or something more mundane, like an eating contest. Add the Fascinating Performance skill feat to your background
options.

Step 4: Influencial Associate

You may have had several people who played key roles in developing their skills and personality, but one likely stands out as the most influential. Use one of the results
below as a template to develop an NPC in deeper detail. Work with your GM to determine the current fate of this NPC and whether you can still call upon the NPC for
aid.

TABLE 4-8: Influencial Associate

1d20

Result

1 The Academic One of your associates had a thirst for knowledge that could never be satisfied with simple answers. Through this association, you developed
a keen appreciation for numbers, geometry, logic, hard study, and problem-solving. Add an Intelligence ability boost to your background options.

2 The Boss You once gained employment under a powerful individual with far-reaching influence. When the boss spoke up, everyone listened. This could
have been a military commander, village leader, guild head, or gang boss. From the boss, you learned how to make people listen and keep them in line. Add a Charisma
ability boost to your background options.

3 The Champion You were close to someone who excelled at athletic endeavors and tests of strength or skill. Through your friendship or rivalry, you
developed a competitive spirit that continues to drive you in everything you do. Add a Strength ability boost to your background options.

4 The Confidante You could tell this person anything. They know your deepest secrets and vulnerabilities just as you know theirs, and thinking critically
about another's perspective became second nature to you. Add an Intelligence ability boost to your background options.

5 The Crafter One of your major influences cherished perfection through art. From this person, you developed a disciplined mind, a solitary focus, and the
ability to create something useful and beautiful. Add an Intelligence ability boost to your background options.

6 The Criminal One of your associates committed crimes regularly. They regaled you with many stories of daring robberies and break-ins—perhaps even
murders. You learned what you know of the criminal element from this friend. Add a Dexterity ability boost to your background options.

7 The Dead One One of your greatest influences was a sapient undead creature, such as a ghost, lich, graveknight, or vampire. Through this strange
relationship, you learned of its mortal life, giving you perspective on your own life. Add a Constitution ability boost to your background options.

8 The Fiend You dealt with, or were possessed by, a fiend who lent you power at a time of great need. Some part of it remains inside you, influencing you
toward destructive ends. Add a Strength ability boost to your background options.

9 The Fool One of your close associates mocked propriety and custom, engaging in wild and somewhat random actions from time to time. After a while, you
learned there was simple wisdom to this foolery—a careless worldview that taught you to cast off concern. Add a Wisdom ability boost to your background options.

10 The Hunter This person was a lone wolf who cautiously allowed you to become a member of their solitary pack. They taught you how to remain quick and
thrive on your own in spite of natural dangers. Add a Dexterity ability boost to your background options.

11 The Liege Lord You became close with someone you were bound to serve, be it an employer, minor lord or lady, or even a king or queen. Though this
person held power over you, they held you closer than a subject or servant. As a result, you're used to dealing with and being close to power. Add a Charisma ability
boost to your background options.

12 The Lover You had a romantic connection in your past, and this person deeply influenced your personality. Perhaps this was a first love, a casual partner
you grew close to, or the one who got away. The experience bolstered your confidence in romantic interactions, even though your thoughts still stray toward that special
someone from long ago. Add a Charisma ability boost to your background options.

13 The Mentor You had a mentor who taught you everything worth knowing about life. This could have been the person who taught you your heroic abilities,
or simply a kindred spirit who helped form your worldview. Add a Constitution ability boost to your background options.

14 The Mercenary With this person, there was always a cost. No deed came without a trade for something of equal or greater value. You respected their cynical
but fair dealings, and they influenced your philosophy. Add a Strength ability boost to your background options.

15 The Mystic You were especially close to a holy person in your community who fundamentally changed your life, opening your eyes to the incredible powers
that exist beyond the natural world. Regardless of whether you now follow a faith, certain religious artifacts, rituals, and texts played a large part in making you the
person you are. Add a Wisdom ability boost to your background options.

16 The Pariah You met a disgraced exile and found in their words something that spoke to you. What once seemed true in your religion, society, or family
began to appear false, and you quickly learned not to trust everyone you meet. Add a Wisdom ability boost to your background options.

17 The Relative You were especially close to a specific relative growing up. To you, this person was the meaning of family. They helped shepherd you into
adulthood, teaching you everything you know about the world. You resolutely strive to keep a promise, vow, or oath that you made to them. Add a Constitution ability
boost to your background options.

18 The Seer You were close to a person who claimed to see the future—perhaps an oracle, seer, prophet, or merely some festival charlatan. The seer's influence
either made you into an optimist with a drive to fulfill that future or a fatalist resigned to accept it. Add a Wisdom ability boost to your background options.

19 The Wanderer You knew someone who traveled from place to place with the changing of the wind, such as a minstrel, merchant, outcast, mercenary, or
sailor. This person brought you wondrous mementos and inspired a wanderlust within you. Add a Dexterity ability boost to your background options.

20 The Well-Connected Friend In your circle of associates, there was someone everyone knew. This person had contacts in every social circle. Through this
connection, you continue to meet and associate with a wide variety of people in every walk of life. Add a Charisma ability boost to your background options.

Step 5: Relationships

This aspect of background generation determines the relationships you have with the other PCs and why your character might choose to adventure with them. This step
is best performed when the entire group is sitting together and can generate and discuss these connections with each other. You should select another character and roll
on the first table to generate an inspiring connection, then determine a different character and roll on the second table to generate a challenging connection. You might
choose these characters randomly, or the group might decide that each character has an inspiring connection with the character of the player sitting to the left and a
challenging connection with the character of the player sitting to the right.

Other players can reject a relationship connection they don't feel fits with their vision of their own character; in this case, pick another character or a different
relationship. Even though you and the other characters share a connection, only you add the skill feats from the relationships you roll to your background options.

TABLE 4-9: Inspiring Relationship

1d12

Result

1 Animal Helpers When you and this character were younger, you worked together to nurse sick animals back to health. Add the Train Animal skill feat to
your background options.

2 Comrade-in-Arms You and this character were once comrades in military service, and you trained yourself and this character to improve your physical
fitness. Add the Assurance skill feat for Athletics to your background options.

3 Desperate Intimidation You had to frighten off pirates or slavers looking to capture you and this character. Add the Group Coercion skill feat to your
background options.

4 Homelessness At a time when you were both living on the streets, you taught this character valuable pointers to survive. Add the Streetwise skill feat to your
background options.

5 Kindly Witch This character connected you to a kindly but reclusive person who was living at the edge of civilization but had expansive knowledge to
share. Add the Natural Medicine skill feat to your background options.

6 Liberators You and this character worked together to free some captives—including one of your friends or relatives—from a gang of slavers. Add
the Lengthy Diversion skill feat to your background options.

7 Magician This character supported your brief dalliance with stage magic, which you took up as a precursor to learning actual magic or simply to keep your
fingers nimble. Add the Subtle Theft skill feat to your background options.

8 Missing Child When a young relative disappeared in a busy market, this character helped you question merchants and shoppers and find the child before
they came to any harm. Add the Hobnobber skill feat to your background options.

9 Patron of the Arts This character encouraged you to excel at a type of performance you loved, even going so far as to support you in lean times. Add
the Virtuosic Performer skill feat to your background options.

10 Religious Students You and this character shared some religious training in the past, even if you didn't stick with it, and you admired their piety. Add
the Student of the Canon skill feat to your background options.

11 Timely Cure When a family member of yours was dying and there didn't seem to be much hope, this character brought a simple but effective alchemical
cure. You are determined to pay this favor forward. Add the Alchemical Crafting skill feat to your background options.

12 Wasteland Survivors You and this character were lost in a dangerous wasteland together and depended upon each other for survival; you're still not certain
that either of you would have survived the ordeal without the other's aid. Add the Forager skill feat to your background options.

TABLE 4-10: Challenging Relationship

1d12

Result

1 Accidental Fall This character once inadvertently shoved you off a ledge or balcony. You're mostly certain it was a mistake, but the fall was terrifying, and
you've resolved to never be caught unaware like that again. Add the Cat Fall skill feat to your background options.

2 Accusation of Theft You were once secretly certain that this character stole a cherished valuable from you. You were determined to steal it back, until you
learned that this character wasn't in fact to blame and you'd only misplaced the item. Add the Pickpocket skill feat to your background options.

3 Called Before Judges Information provided by this character—either intentionally or inadvertently given—required you to justify yourself in front of a
group of bureaucrats or magistrates. Add the Group Impression skill feat to your background options.

4 Matter of Might You have long considered this character your rival in a question of strength. You are determined to prove yourself to be mightier, perhaps
by intelligent application of force if you aren't physically imposing. Add the Hefty Hauler skill feat to your background options.

5 Mercantile Expertise To encourage an employer to hire you instead of this character, you worked hard to demonstrate your keen mercantile sense. It didn't
work; the employer hired this character anyway. Add the Bargain Hunter skill feat to your background options.

6 Privileged Position You once sought the favor of a powerful spellcaster as a mentor, but this character was plainly the mentor's favorite, no matter how hard
you tried. Add the Quick Identification skill feat to your background options.
7 Relationship Ender You once warned off an admirer seeking this character's affections. You still maintain that the match would have been a poor one and
that you did this character a favor. Add the Quick Coercion skill feat to your background options.

8 Rival Trackers You and this character worked for a time as rival hunters, whether tracking animals or escaped criminals. Add the Experienced Tracker skill
feat to your background options.

9 Seeking Accolades You never seemed to capture the attention of the crowds at the tavern as easily as this character did, so you worked hard to practice your
showmanship. Add the Impressive Performance skill feat to your background options.

10 Slander You and this character were rivals for the same person's affections, and you stooped to spreading vicious lies before the whole situation fell apart.
Add the Charming Liar skill feat to your background options.

11 Social Maneuvering You have always wanted to prove yourself better than this character in a fancy social situation but have yet to decisively do so. Add
the Courtly Graces skill feat to your background options

12 Spy You spied upon this character in the past, either at the behest of someone else or because of your own suspicions. Add the Read Lips skill feat to your
background options.

Gamemastery Guide, page 186.

Growing Items

In an ancient forest, an elf plays a haunting melody on a flute among the trees, growing entire buildings seamlessly from still-living wood. Elsewhere, a fungus leshy
holds a conversation with the mushrooms of an underground cavern, convincing them to twine together into a latticed armor to defend the cavern against a new threat
encroaching from the Darklands. The traditional methods of crafting items tell the story of a crafter retrieving the necessary raw materials and then working those
materials via forging, woodworking, tailoring, or other such means; however, this is but one of many ways to create magic items. In a primal setting or adventure, or in
a campaign taking place in a natural region like the fey forests of the First World, it might fit your story better to grow an item from a living thing instead. While most
such stories take place in a natural environment, they can just as easily occur in a hidden laboratory, where an alchemist might form magical oozes into specific shapes
before curing them with magical reagents, producing a sword as durable as any steel.

Mechanically, the process of growing an item uses the same principles as Crafting it normally, though the details and the story differ. Use the Grow activity, a variant of
the Craft activity. This activity has the rare trait; it's only available if you've decided to use this variant in your campaign.

Grow

[–]

rare downtime manipulate

You can grow an item from a living thing, most commonly a plant. You need the Alchemical Crafting skill feat to Grow an alchemical item, the Magical Crafting skill
feat to Grow a magic item, and the Snare Crafting feat to Grow a snare. To Grow an item, you must meet the following requirements.

 The item is your level or lower. An item that doesn't list a level is level 0. If the item is 9th level or higher, you must be a master in Crafting, and if it's 16th
or higher, you must be legendary.

 You have the formula for the item; see Getting Formulas for more information.

 You have an appropriate set of tools for growing the item. While cultivation and gardening tools are typical for plants, you might also use a different
technique that requires a different set of tools. For instance, if you play music to help your plants grow, you might use a musical instrument instead.

 You must supply special fertilizers or other magical nutrients worth at least half the item's Price. You always expend at least that quantity of fertilizers and
magical nutrients when you Grow successfully. If you're in a settlement, you can usually spend currency to get the amount of magical nutrients you need,
except in the case of rarer precious materials. You can also bring them with you in advance or forage for them with a skill like Herbalism Lore, gaining an
amount of value based on the rules for Earn Income.

You must spend 4 days at work, at which point you attempt a Crafting check. The GM determines the DC to Grow the item based on its level, rarity, and other
circumstances. Depending on the specifics of the type of item, it might be easier to Grow than it is to Craft, or vice versa; typically, the GM can represent that by
making an easy or hard DC adjustment.

If your attempt to create the item is successful, you expend the fertilizers and other magical nutrients you supplied. You can pay the remaining portion of the item's Price
in additional growth accelerants to complete the item immediately, or you can spend additional downtime days cultivating the item. For each additional day taken,
reduce the value of the accelerants you need to complete the item. This amount is determined using Core Rulebook Table 4–2: Income Earned, based on your
proficiency rank in Crafting and using your own level instead of a task level. After any of these downtime days, you can complete the item by spending the remaining
portion of its Price in accelerants. If the downtime days you spend are interrupted, you can return to finish the item later, continuing where you left off.
You also have the option to allow the item to grow mostly untended, only stopping to supervise it occasionally, though the pace is much slower without your direct
intervention. At the end of each season in which you spent at least 1 day of downtime to Grow the item, roll an additional Crafting check and reduce the value of
accelerants you need to expend to complete the item by the corresponding amount.

Critical Success Your attempt is successful. Each additional day spent Growing reduces the materials needed to complete the item by an amount based on your level +
1 and your proficiency rank in Crafting.Success Your attempt is successful. Each additional day spent Growing reduces the materials needed to complete the item by an
amount based on your level and your proficiency rank.Failure You fail to complete the item. You can salvage the raw materials you supplied for their full value. If you
want to try again, you must start over.Critical Failure You fail to complete the item. You ruin 10% of the fertilizers and nutrients you supplied, but you can salvage the
rest. If you want to try again, you must start over.

Example

If Lini wanted to Grow a suit of leaf weave armor, she would spend 2 gp on initial fertilizers and nutrients and allow four days for the armor to grow, attempting a DC
14 Crafting check. At the end of the fourth day, if she succeeds, Lini can choose to either use accelerants to complete the growth right away or to instead spend more
downtime to cultivate the armor over the course of a few weeks. She has time to spare and finds this kind of task soothing, so even though a level-0 task doesn't provide
profit at an especially fast rate, she decides to spend 5 additional days growing the armor. She's quite fortunate and rolls a critical success on her Crafting check,
allowing her to make 2 sp of progress per additional day, for a total of 10 sp (or 1 gp). This reduces the remaining amount she need to pay to 1 gp, so she spends that
amount on a magical additive that promotes plant growth, at which point she is finished growing her new armor. This new armor, which Lini grew herself and is in
accordance with her principles as a druid, provides much greater satisfaction than anything she could buy in a shop.

Adjusting Skills

In a game or setting where the act of creating new items happens primarily or exclusively through careful cultivation of living organisms, GMs can choose to
have Grow use Nature instead of Crafting. In worlds or settings where this ruling is in play, inventors are likely nonexistent, or at least rare, while druids serve an even
more central role in their communities, going beyond spiritual guidance roles to also serve as innovators and economic leaders. Such a change should be made carefully
and intentionally, with an eye toward the type of story being told. There's little point in allowing a hybrid system where you can choose between Crafting or Nature to
craft items, since Nature has many other uses and thus can easily make Crafting obsolete by comparison. Instead, consider a hybrid version where players
use Nature to Grow items and Arcana to craft items the normal way, cutting the Crafting skill entirely.

Treasure Vault, page 164.

High-Quality

In this variant, gear can provide bonuses even if it's not magical. This is useful for games and settings that set out to give fine, non-magical items the same prominence
as magic items. High-quality gear requires the corresponding proficiency rank in Crafting to Craft.

TABLE 4-12: High-Quality Weapons

Quality

Item Bonus

Property Rune Slots

Item Level

Price

Expert

+1

35 gp

Master

+2

10

935 gp
Legendary

+3

16

8,935 gp

TABLE 4-13: High-Quality Armor

Quality

Bonus Increase

Property Rune Slots

Item Level

Price

Expert

+1

160 gp

Master

+2

11

1,060 gp

Legendary

+3

18

20,560 gp

TABLE 4-14: Devastating Weapons

Quality

Item Bonus

Damage Dice

Property Rune Slots

Item Level

Price

Expert

+1

35 gp
Expert devastating

+1

100 gp

Master

+2

10

1,000 gp

Master devastating

+2

12

2,000 gp

Legendary

+3

16

10,000 gp

Legendary devastating

+3

19

40,000 gp

TABLE 4-15: Resilient Armor

Quality Bonus Increase Save Bonus Property Rune Slots Item Level Price

Expert +1 – 1 5 160 gp

Expert resilient +1 +1 1 8 500 gp

Master +2 +1 2 11 1,400 gp

Master resilient +2 +2 2 14 4,500 gp

Legendary +3 +2 3 18 24,000 gp

Legendary resilient +3 +3 3 20 70,000 gp

High-Quality Weapons and Armor

High-quality weapons and armor give the same benefits as weapon and armor potency runes (Tables 4–12 and 4–13). To remove magic from weapons and armor, you
can use the devastating attacks and saving throw potency entries from the automatic bonus progression variant, or you can have quality also provide the effects of
striking and resilient runes, using Table 4–14 and Table 4–15. If you choose to still have magic weapons and armor, the effects don't stack with quality.

High-Quality Skill Items

Items with skill or Perception bonuses don't have fundamental runes. If an existing skill bonus item costs less than the listed Price for a high-quality skill item or has a
lower level, it likely has a feature such as a limitation, so adjust accordingly. A character in a game with this variant can Craft or buy a non-magical item to
boost Perception or a skill using the table below.

TABLE 4-16: High-Quality Skill Item

Quality Item Bonus Item Level Price

Expert +1 3 40 gp

Master +2 9 550 gp

Legendary +3 17 11,000 gp

Gamemastery Guide, page 197.

Infiltration

Not all elements of an adventure can be resolved with force of arms and the sizzle of deadly magic. Sometimes subtlety is required to circumvent foes or accomplish a
goal. When the characters need to rely on improvisation and fast thinking to infiltrate a stronghold or organization to save the day, the infiltration subsystem provides a
framework for those adventures.

An infiltration requires the heroes to employ guile and subtlety to achieve one or more objectives without directly confronting their enemies. The PCs' goal might be
sneaking into a den of thieves to relieve them of ill-gotten gains, navigating the winding passages of the city watch headquarters to break a friend out of prison, or
putting themselves in just the right spot to snatch up the right person or the correct item at just the right time. Whatever the case, the heroes are working to avoid
drawing the attention of an opposing party, such as the members of a thieves' guild, the prison guards, or the invited guests at an upscale gala. Should the heroes draw
too much attention, they might be attacked, arrested, or thrown out—in any case, blocked from accomplishing their goal.

An infiltration is fundamentally a roleplaying activity. The players narrate their characters' actions in response to the situations around them, and the infiltration
subsystem provides a framework to measure incremental success within the overall endeavor. An infiltration takes place over the course of multiple rounds, though it's
up to you to determine how long a round is. One round might encompass 10 minutes or 1 hour of in-world time, or something completely different depending on the
story and your group's preferences.

Building an Infiltration

When creating an infiltration, you'll want to start with the party's broad goals and an idea of how much time you and your players want to spend. The more complex an
infiltration, the longer it will take to play out at the table.

Objective

The first thing you'll need to determine is the party's objective, or broad goal. Maybe the PCs need to find their way into some hidden sanctum, find a particular person
within an organization, locate and get away with a bit of treasure, or plant a piece of evidence. An infiltration can consist of a single objective, but a more complex one
might include two or more objectives in sequence—the PCs might first need to find a way to enter the cult's sanctum, then open the vault, and then escape with the relic.

To achieve an objective, the PCs must overcome a certain number of obstacles—specific challenges the PCs face, such as getting across a moat or past a nosy butler.
For a simple objective, they might need to overcome only one or two obstacles, while a more complex one might require several.

It's a good idea to offer more obstacles as options than the characters need to overcome, and the PCs don't all have to choose the same ones. This represents the fact that
there's more than one way into a castle, and allows PCs to choose obstacles that play to their strengths. It also means you have more options you can adapt if the PCs
decide on a truly novel way to tackle their objective.

Once a character has overcome the required number of obstacles to reach the objective, they move on to the next objective. This might mean that some characters move
on to a second objective and start making progress toward it while other characters are still completing obstacles from the first objective. When all characters have
completed the final objective, the infiltration is a success!

While the characters are pursuing their objectives, however, they need to avoid notice. Awareness Points (AP) measure the extent to which an opposing party is aware of
the PCs' actions, and apply to the party as a whole. As the PCs' Awareness Points increase, the infiltration becomes more difficult as the opposition shores up its
defenses. If the PCs generate too many Awareness Points, they are found out and their infiltration fails altogether!
Obstacles

Each obstacle has certain statistics that define how it works in play. Infiltration Points (IP) represent a character's progress toward overcoming an obstacle. Each
obstacle requires gaining a certain number of Infiltration Points to overcome—typically 1 or 2, but some challenging obstacles might require more. PCs can gain
Infiltration Points in multiple ways—usually through a skill or Perception check, but sometimes another roll or even the use of a spell or item. These methods are listed
in the obstacle's Overcome entry. Unlike obstacles for chases, these use a difficulty band for the PCs' level, rather than using set DCs.

The Overcome entry also lists whether the PCs need to overcome an object individually or as a group. For individual obstacles, each PC needs to earn the required
number of Infiltration Points themself, while for group obstacles, all PCs working toward that obstacle pool their Infiltration Points toward it together. For example,
each PC trying to scale a wall needs to earn points on their own, but the PCs could work together to search a guildhall for clues, and once one PC has picked a lock,
everyone can enter.

A particular PC can overcome an individual obstacle only once during an objective; likewise, the party can overcome a group obstacle only once.

Obstacles in Play

On a character's turn, the character describes what they do to get past the obstacle. They then attempt any required check (or perform the required action, if their choice
doesn't require a check). The result of the check determines how many Infiltration Points the character gains toward overcoming that obstacle—or whether they instead
raise suspicions and accrue Awareness Points!

Critical Success The PC gains 2 Infiltration Points.Success The PC gains 1 Infiltration Point.Failure The PCs accrue 1 Awareness Point.Critical Failure The PCs
accrue 2 Awareness Points.

If the character's actions automatically help without requiring a check, like using a spell, they usually gain 1 IP, but you can award 2 for particularly helpful actions.

Sometimes a PC might become stuck on an individual obstacle. Some opportunities (page 162) allow PCs to spend their turn helping others overcome a tricky obstacle.

Pacing

The number of obstacles to require the PCs to overcome for an objective depends partly on the complexity of the infiltration. For shorter infiltrations, use fewer and
lower-IP obstacles; for a longer, more complex heist, you can add more obstacles with greater complexity. Also, bear in mind how many checks the PCs will need to
attempt to complete their obstacles. An objective with mostly low-IP group obstacles will move quickly because only a few rolls are required, compared to one with
mostly individual obstacles that each PC needs to roll separately for.

Sample Obstacles

While you'll want to create custom obstacles to suit the details of your infiltration, the following examples can be used directly in many infiltrations, or as inspiration for
your own creations. You can also use the sample chase obstacles on page 159 as starting points.

Guard Post

Obstacle

[–]

Infiltration Points 2 (individual); Overcome standard, hard, or very hard Deception, Diplomacy, or Stealth

Guards cluster at a checkpoint, alert for unusual activity.

Locked Door

Obstacle

[–]

Infiltration Points 1 (group); Overcome hard or very hard Athletics or Thievery

A locked door separates the heroes from their target.

Trap

Obstacle

[–]

Infiltration Points 3 (group); Overcome hard or very hard Thievery

A trap bars the characters' passage. This obstacle follows the normal degrees of success for an obstacle, with the following modification for critical failure.

Critical Failure The PCs accrue 2 AP as normal, and the PC who critically fails the Thievery check also triggers the trap.

SETTING INFILTRATION SKILLS AND DCS

Many of the sample infiltration activities and events give a DC range instead of a fixed DC. Set the DCs based on the standard DC of the party level using the table on
page 503 of the Core Rulebook, and adjust them using Table 10–6: DC Adjustments on page 504. When given a range of skills for an activity or event, you should vary
the difficulty based on the needs of the story. For instance, if a PC is Scouting a Location, you might want to use a low DC for Stealth (because it's easier to scout
when unnoticed), a hard one for Perception (because while the PC might see the enemy, the enemy might also see them), and a very hard DC for Society (because
walking in like you belong is difficult if you don't have an invitation or the right uniform). This not only adds a certain degree of plausibility, but by planning for and
allowing a broad range of skills as means to complete the activity, you also become better prepared for when your players improvise.

Awareness Points

The trick of any infiltration is to get it done before anyone notices. Awareness Points measure the opposition's awareness of the PCs' efforts, helping you keep the
pressure on and ramp up the urgency. While Infiltration Points are specific to a given obstacle, Awareness Points are a single pool spanning the entire infiltration and all
participants.

Awareness Points increase in three different ways. When a PC fails a check to overcome an obstacle, they incur 1 Awareness Point (or 2 on a critical failure) Other
failed checks during the infiltration typically don't increase the Awareness Point total unless the failure would reasonably cause a disruption. Awareness Points also
increase by 1 at the end of each round of the infiltration, as the passage of time makes it more likely that the PCs will be discovered. Finally, the PCs earn Awareness
Points whenever their activities are disruptive enough to draw attention to the infiltration, subject to GM discretion.

The effects of Awareness Points occur when the PCs reach certain thresholds. The specific effects and thresholds are up to you and your story, but typically for every 5
AP the PCs accrue, the challenges become harder, and if the PCs accrue enough Awareness Points (usually equal to twice the number of Infiltration Points necessary for
the party as a whole to overcome all necessary obstacles), the infiltration fails.

Each threshold should have an effect. It might increase the DCs for obstacles, introduce a complication, spark a combat encounter, or have other effects. Reaching the
highest tier of Awareness Points means that the PCs fail, but that doesn't have to be the end of the story! Failed infiltrations are an opportunity to introduce new
challenges and move the story forward in a different way.

This basic Awareness Point scheme for an infiltration requiring the PCs to earn 10 IP can be used as is or tailored to your game.

5 Awareness Points: Suspicions are raised. Increase the DCs for obstacles by 1. The first time the PCs reach this tier, a complication occurs.

10 Awareness Points: The first time the PCs reach this tier, a complication occurs.

15 Awareness Points: Increase the DCs for obstacles by a total of 2, and the first time the PCs reach this tier, a complication occurs.

20 Awareness Points: The infiltration fails.

Complications

Sometimes when a plan goes sour and seems like it can't get worse, it does. Complications are unexpected problems that compound the difficulty of a challenge. The
party might trigger a complication by critically failing a check to overcome a challenge, by reaching a certain threshold of Awareness Points, if you need to spice up the
infiltration, or through their own decisions—maybe the wizard's castle has various wards, each triggered when a PC attempts to use a different kind of magic.

Many complications increase Awareness Points or otherwise make infiltration more difficult. A common form of complication is attracting the attention of guards who
try to stop, capture, or even kill the PCs. When this happens, the infiltration may briefly shift into encounter mode as the PCs attempt to defeat their assailants—
hopefully taking care not to arouse more suspicions. The sounds of battle are loud, so unless combat occurs in an isolated area or the PCs take precautions, each round
of unmitigated combat noise causes them to gain Awareness Points, at the very least.

When you create a complication, decide on the details of how it will play out. Each complication has a trigger that determines when it occurs. It might affect only a
single character, or it might affect everyone in a certain area, and you'll need to determine whether multiple PCs can work together to overcome it or whether only one
can. Complications must be overcome before the characters involved can overcome other obstacles, and attempting to overcome a complication takes a character's turn
just like trying to overcome an obstacle. Many complications are one-off events and are overcome automatically, even on a failure, though not without a cost. If a
complication requires PCs to gain Infiltration Points to clear it, it has an Infiltration Points entry, just like an obstacle.

Don't overwhelm the characters with complications. Typically, you'll want to aim for two complications per AP threshold. Otherwise, the PCs may end up spending
more time on the complications than on the heist itself, and the chance of failure may be too high.

The following example is a common complication that could occur in almost any infiltration.

Do I Know You?

Complication

[–]

Trigger The PCs reach 5 Awareness Points for the first time.

Overcome standard, hard, or very hard Deception, Diplomacy, Performance, or Stealth

Someone thinks they recognize you, and you must either convince them otherwise before slipping away or find a way to dodge the person entirely.

Success You convince or otherwise dodge the person.Failure You are recognized, and the party accrues 1 AP.Critical Failure As failure, but the party accrues 2 AP.

Opportunities

Not everything that happens during an infiltration is a challenge that must be solved—sometimes PCs can use their turns to aid the group in some way. Opportunities
are very similar to obstacles, but they don't provide Infiltration Points or count toward the objective. They instead provide some kind of benefit, such as a magical
password to disable security features further along, reducing the party's Awareness Points, or lowering the DC for a later challenge. But opportunities sometimes come
with risks—failing can increase the PCs' Awareness Points or trigger complications. You'll need to decide what opportunities are available and when, and whether they
can be completed multiple times or only once. For example, the PCs can steal the guard's keys only once, but can cause a distraction several times.

Some opportunities might be available at almost any time in any infiltration, like this example.

Smooth The Path

Opportunity

[–]

Requirements The PC has successfully completed an individual objective and some other PCs have not.

Having completed your objective, you help an ally who is still trying to reach that goal. Describe how you are helping. This gives the ally the benefits of Following the
Expert. In unusual cases, the GM might allow you to attempt a relevant skill check to overcome the obstacle on behalf of the other PC instead.

PC Preparations

Sometimes the party has a chance to prepare before conducting their infiltration, by scouting a location, bribing officials, and so on. This takes the form of special
downtime activities that can give the PCs Edge Points (EP): resources and advantages they can bring to bear during their infiltration, such as stolen uniforms, forged
documents, and the like. As with infiltration opportunities, careless work runs the risk of increasing Awareness Points—but in this case, before the infiltration even
begins!

Typically, you'll limit the preparation phase in some way, such as by setting a number of days the PCs have to prepare and by constraining how many preparation
activities are available to make sure the PCs aren't entering the infiltration with so many Edge Points that the infiltration is no longer suspenseful. The more
opportunities for Edge Points you give, the lower you should set the Awareness Point thresholds for complications and failure. Also decide how many times the
characters can benefit from each preparation activity—most activities should grant their benefits only once.

You can use the activities below for your infiltration by adjusting the details, but you should also create custom activities that link directly to your story.

Edge Points

Edge Points (EP) represent advantages the party gains by proper planning, quick thinking, the intervention of an ally, or some other benefit. They are typically gained
by pursuing opportunities in previous infiltrations or through preparation before the infiltration. When a PC fails or critically fails a check to overcome an obstacle or a
complication, they can spend an Edge Point to succeed instead. Some Edge Points can be spent only during particular circumstances—for instance, no matter how well
you forge documents, it won't help you unlock a door—so consider using unique tokens to represent such Edge Points.

Preparation Activities

Bribe Contact

downtime secret

Cost A bribe worth at least one-tenth of the Currency per Additional PC listed on Table 10–9: Party Treasure by Level. Doubling this amount grants a +2 circumstance
bonus to the check.

Requirements You've successfully Gained a Contact.

You offer a bribe to your contact to help the heist in some way. Attempt a hard or very hard Deception or Diplomacy check.

Success The contact accepts the bribe and you gain 1 EP.Failure You believe you successfully Bribed your Contact and gained 1 EP, but in fact the contact informs the
opposition of the attempted bribery, adding 1 AP to the infiltration. The GM can reveal that this Edge Point grants no benefit at any point during the infiltration, as befits
the story.Critical Failure As failure, but adding 2 AP to the infiltration.

Forge Documents

downtime secret

You prepare forgeries that might serve as convincing props. Attempt a hard or very hard Society check.

Success You create convincing forgeries and gain 1 EP you can use only when presenting some form of paperwork.Failure You create unconvincing documents. You
gain 1 EP that (unknown to you) grants no benefit when used.Critical Failure As a failure, but a PC who tries to use the Edge Point gets a critical failure, even if they
use the Edge Point after rolling a failure.

Gain Contact

downtime

You try to make contact with an individual who can aid you in the infiltration. Attempt a normal, hard, or very hard DC Diplomacy or Society check, or a check using a
Lore skill appropriate to your prospective contact.

Success You make contact and gain 1 EP.Failure You fail to make contact.Critical Failure You insult or spook the contact in some way. Future attempts take a –2
circumstance penalty.
Special Multiple critical failures might cause the contact to work against the PCs in some way, likely increasing the party's Awareness Points.

Gossip

downtime secret

You seek out rumors about the infiltration's target. Attempt a normal, hard, or very hard Diplomacy check.

Critical Success You gain inside information about the location or group you're trying to infiltrate. This grants you a +2 circumstance bonus to future checks you
attempt for preparation activities for this infiltration. If you share this information, those you share it with also gain this bonus.Success You gain inside information
about the place or group you're attempting to infiltrate that aids your planning.Failure You learn nothing.Critical Failure You hear a few mistaken rumors and take a –
2 circumstance penalty to your next check for a preparation activity. Word spreads around that you're asking after that group or individual, increasing your Awareness
Points by 1.

Scout Location

downtime secret

You spend time observing the place or group you wish to infiltrate. Attempt a normal, hard, or very hard DC Perception, Society or Stealth check.

Success You make observations that provide 1 EP.Failure You learn nothing particularly noteworthy.Critical Failure You misjudge some aspect of what you observed,
gaining 1 EP that results in a critical failure instead of a success when used, even if a PC uses the Edge Point after rolling a failure.

Secure Disguises

downtime

You seek to procure or create disguises. Attempt a normal, hard, or very hard Crafting, Deception, Performance, or Society check.

Success You procure or creates disguises, gaining 1 EP that can be used only to maintain a cover identity.Failure Your efforts result in an unusable disguise.

BUILDING AN INFILTRATION

For most infiltrations, you'll want to detail the site or group the PCs are trying to infiltrate. This might involve mapping a building or fleshing out NPCs within the
organization—or, most likely, both. You likely need to know the party's objectives before you can decide on these details, but knowing this information can help you
brainstorm the obstacles, opportunities, and complications of the infiltration itself. Also, with details on the site and its adversaries, you can more confidently improvise
when the PCs do something unexpected!

Gamemastery Guide, page 160.

Influence

When the PCs need to gain favor with or sway over an NPC to achieve their goals, sometimes a Deception, Diplomacy, or Intimidation check isn't enough to get the
job done. In these cases, you can implement the influence subsystem in a social encounter.

Influence is a short-term subsystem wherein the PCs accumulate Influence Points during a social encounter with an NPC to represent their increasing influence.

These encounters are a race against the clock to reach Influence Point thresholds in order to sway the NPC. It's perfect for a single social gathering—whether it's a party,
a treaty negotiation, or even an attempt to persuade various members of a panel of judges. Because of the variety of Influence skill options and the ability to
use Perception to uncover more information, every character has something important to contribute in the influence subsystem, as opposed to situations where only one
character has Diplomacy.

The influence subsystem divides a social encounter into rounds, with the number of rounds representing the length of the social event. Rounds last any amount of time
that you determine, depending on the needs of the narrative, though somewhere between 15 minutes and an hour is typical. During each round, each PC can act once to
either Influence or Discover.

Influence

[–]

concentrate linguistic

You attempt to make a favorable impression on an NPC to convince the NPC to support your cause. Choose an NPC, and attempt a skill check to impress that NPC. The
DC, and whether success is possible, depend on the NPC's preferences (typically found in the NPC's influence stat block).

Critical Success You gain 2 Influence Points with the chosen NPC.Success You gain 1 Influence Point with the chosen NPC.Failure You gain no Influence Points with
the chosen NPC.Critical Failure You lose 1 Influence Point with the chosen NPC.
Discover

[–]

concentrate secret

You watch or study an NPC to learn more about that NPC's preferences. Choose an NPC and attempt a Perception check or an appropriate skill check determined by the
GM. The DC is typically found in the NPC's influence stat block.

Critical Success Choose two of the options detailed in Success below; you can choose the same option twice to learn two pieces of information from the same
category.Success Choose one of the following: You learn which skill that can Influence the NPC has the lowest DC (skipping any skills that you already know), one of
the NPC's personal biases, one of the NPC's resistances, or one of the NPC's weaknesses.Failure You learn no information.Critical Failure Choose a piece of
information to learn about, as success, but the information is incorrect. For instance, you might think the NPC is susceptible to flattery when actually the NPC is
resistant to flattery.

Influence Stat Blocks

NPCs in the influence subsystem have little need for many of the statistics you'll find in an ordinary creature stat block. However, it might help you to prepare for the
social encounter by creating an influence stat block for each prominent NPC. These are optional; if you can keep most information straight in your head, you might skip
this step or just write down the first three categories to keep the numbers straight.

Influence stat blocks are flexible and contain only the stats that you are essential to running the NPC during a social encounter, leaving the rest out. The main stats that
matter are the NPC's Perception and Will modifiers.

After the influence stat block, you might want to list important information to help you roleplay the NPC and incorporate the NPC into your influence encounter. You
can list any of the following details that are relevant to your NPC: their background (a brief bio focusing on information relevant to the encounter), appearance,
personality (this can just be a list of adjectives), affiliations, public goals, hidden agendas, or the penalty for antagonizing the NPC (or possibly for failing to Influence
the NPC, depending on the way you structure the encounter)

NPC Name

[–]

traits

A succinct description of the NPC, such as "Famous musician" or "Popular baron."

Perception The NPC's Perception modifier, plus potentially relevant spells such as true sight.

Will The NPC's Will modifier, plus any special adjustments.

Discovery The Perception DC to Discover information about the NPC, as well as any skill checks to Discover their DCs.

Influence Skills The skills the PCs can use to Influence the NPC are listed here with their DCs, in order from the lowest DC (the skill that works best) to the highest
DC. If a skill isn't listed but a player gives a strong narrative explanation for using it, you can add it as an appropriate DC (usually the highest listed
DC). Diplomacy should usually be on this list, but should rarely be the best skill to Influence an NPC, in order to encourage and reward using Discover to learn and
cater to an NPC's interests.

Influence Thresholds The number of Influence Points required to Influence the PC, and the benefits for meeting them. Some NPCs might have multiple influence
thresholds, granting the PCs additional benefits or favors as they cross more thresholds.

Resistances Some NPCs are resistant to certain tactics, biased against certain types of people, or may get defensive when a certain topic comes up. Any of these makes
it harder for a PC to convince them. For instance, an NPC might find flattery inane, dislike wizards, or bristle at any mention of their ex-spouse. Typically, an NPC's
resistance increases the DC of the associated check to Influence by 2 (or 5 for stronger resistances), but it could have farther-ranging consequences, such as losing
Influence Points or angering the NPC enough that attempting to Influence them again is impossible.

Weaknesses Most NPCs have at least one weakness that clever and observant PCs can use to their advantage, whether it's a deep-seated insecurity, a desire for power, a
favorite hobby, a bias toward a certain group, or a hidden secret the PCs could threaten to expose. When a PC incorporates an NPC's weakness, it typically decreases the
associated Influence check's DC by 2 (or 5 for stronger weaknesses), but it could have farther-ranging effects, such as gaining automatic Influence Points or even
automatically influencing the NPC regardless of how many Influence Points the PCs have achieved so far.

Setting Dcs

When setting DCs, it's often good to start with a "social level" for the NPC and set their DCs accordingly.

Use the DC adjustments from page 504 of the Core Rulebook just like you normally would. A good starting place is setting the NPC's Will modifier, then taking that DC
and adjusting it for skills that are more or less likely to work.

For instance, for a 3rd-level challenge, you might give an NPC a +12 Will modifier and use 22 as the base DC. You might say that's the DC for Diplomacy but then
determine that the NPC is difficult to intimidate, and so you apply the hard DC adjustment to make the Intimidation DC 24. Maybe you also determine that she loves
different varieties of wine, resulting in an incredibly easy DC adjustment to get DC 12 for Alcohol Lore.

SAMPLE STAT BLOCK

In this example, the PCs try to convince a grizzled landlord to not evict a theatrical troupe from a dilapidated building he owns. It's a 3rd-level challenge. He is a busy,
practical man and gives the PCs only 45 minutes (3 rounds) to make their case.

Danphy Mollwether

[–]

le medium human humanoid

Penny-pinching landlord

Perception +9

Will +11

Discovery DC 13 Mercantile Lore, DC 18 Perception, DC 16 Society

Influence Skills DC 16 Accounting Lore (noting how the theater could be made profitable), DC 16 Crafting (volunteering to repair the building), DC 20 Intimidation,
DC 20 Performance, DC 22 Diplomacy, DC 24 Deception

Influence 4: Mr. Mollwether gives the troupe 1 week to get him his back rent, with interest, before evicting them.

Influence 6: Mr. Mollwether gives the troupe 1 month to get him his back rent before evicting them.

Influence 8: Mr. Mollwether allows the troupe to stay, reduces their rent, and forgives half their debt.

Resistances The landlord thinks in practical terms, with little patience for the "good-for-nothings" of the troupe. Appeals directed at sympathy alone increase the
check's DC by 2.

Weaknesses Mr. Mollwether used to visit the theater often as a small child, and performing one of his favorite old songs or plays brings tears to his eyes and reduces
the Performance DC by 2.

 Background Mollwether was raised by wealthy parents who loved the arts and took him to the theater often. A scandal left the family broke, and Danphy
clawed his way back up to a decent living. Becoming something of a slumlord, he owns several properties now and still feels he must exploit others to
survive.

 Appearance An elderly man in cheap dress clothes, Mr. Mollwether looks like he's never felt a moment of love for anyone in his whole life.

 Personality Impatient, crotchety, skeptical

 Penalty Antagonizing Mr. Mollwether by "sermonizing" or "wasting his time" causes him to cut the meeting short, reducing it to 2 rounds instead of 3.

Running an Influence Encounter

When running an influence encounter, let the PCs be creative and use a diverse set of skills whenever possible. Be open to improvisation, and change the structure of
the encounter if something interesting presents itself. The PCs set the pace and choose with whom they interact. It's up to you to make sure every NPC is distinct, react
to the PCs' interactions with the NPCs, and lend overall structure to the encounter by making sure it feels like a living, breathing event rather than just a series of skill
checks.

Think about how the number of rounds of a social encounter relate to the overall event. For instance, if you have a four-course banquet and 6 rounds, you could have 1
round for introductions before the food arrives, 1 round for each of the courses, and 1 last round of conversations after the final course. NPCs might filter in and out or
become unavailable for conversations as they are occupied by various tasks, or become particularly eager to engage a PC. That sort of change help makes the NPC feel
a bit more real and helps break up any repetition in your encounter.

Gamemastery Guide, page 151.

Item Quirks

You can use the table found here to quickly apply a quirk to any item, such as items found as treasure or new items that a PC creates. Rather than rolling, you can
instead choose one yourself or invent a new quirk. Item quirks don't normally have any mechanical effect, since their only purpose is to be colorful and further flesh out
the world, though you can add one if you so choose. Such effects should never grant more than a +1 item bonus or –1 item penalty, and even then the statistic or check it
applies to should be narrow. For a quirk that grants an item the ability to speak, you choose the language based on the history of the item, or your best guess of what that
history might be. It's typically a language spoken by the item's creator.

TABLE 2-21: Quirks

d% Quirk Description

01 Melodic Faint music plays when in use.

02 Skin-altering The user's skin color changes to a bright color such as blue or green.

03 Choral Repeats everything the user says in a singing voice.

04 Mood coloration User's mood affects the item's color.

05 Chatty Happily engages in small talk.

06 Spoiling Food within 1 foot spoils at twice the normal rate.

07 Friendly Requests to be introduced to everyone the user meets.

08 Muffling Nearby sounds are slightly quieter.

09 Runic Runes appear on the user's skin.

10 Comfortable Can serve as a pillow or blanket.

11 Rain-blocking The user remains dry in the rain.

12 Clumsy When unattended, knocks over other small items within 1 foot.

13 Elemental appearance Seems made of flame, water, or another elemental material.

14 Magnetic Small, ferrous objects of light Bulk or less adhere to it.

15 Aberrant Has tentacles, teeth, or other off-putting features.

16 Dream-eating Creatures asleep within 10 feet do not dream.

17 Clean Remains pristine despite filth.

18 Hungry Needs daily meals, often odd things like wood shavings.

19 Smelly Smells like the last food the user ate.

20 Flamboyant Flashes of light, sparks of color, and other effects shower from it.

21 Verdant trail Small plants grow where the user walks, remaining for 1 hour.

22 Complaining Grumbles when not in use.

23 Detecting Aware of a specific animal or plant, such as squirrels or poison ivy, within 30 feet.

24 Fibbing Tells grandiose and obvious lies.

25 Compressing User is slightly shorter.

26 Attentive Turns to face the last creature to touch it.

27 Soprano User's voice becomes higher.

28 Shrinking Decreases in size when used.

29 Aromatic Nearby air smells pleasant.

30 Temperate Slight warmth spills from the item.

31 Slime trail User leaves a trail of slime where they walk, remaining for 1 hour.

32 Tetrachromatic Colors seem more vivid to the user.

33 Resounding Nearby sounds are slightly louder.

34 Insect-attracting Harmless insects swarm around it.

35 Ancient tongue Speaks in a forgotten language.

36 Bloodthirsty The sight of blood causes it to quiver in anticipation.

37 Polished Highly reflective.

38 Scribing Absorbs ink for 1 hour, allowing its points to be used as a pen.

39 Dirty A layer of filth always remains.

40 Eye-altering User's eye color changes.

41 Preserving Food within 1 foot spoils at half rate.

42 Leafy Small plants grow on or from it.

43 Wet It and its user are always damp.

44 Encouraging Offers encouragement when the user fails a check.

45 Loyal Remains within 5 feet of the user, as if on a tether.

46 Ritualistic Demands the user perform a simple act every morning.

47 Restless Slowly moves and fidgets.

48 Displaced Appears offset from where it is.

49 Caring Provides advice and reminders.

50 Projecting Light creates a kaleidoscopic effect.

51 Hair-altering User's hair color changes.

52 Watchful Staring eyes cover it.

53 Generous Produces small, token gifts.

54 Bass User's voice becomes lower.

55 Leaking Secretes a harmless liquid.

56 Taste-altering Food tastes different, such as tasting sweeter or saltier.

57 Bouncy Bounces on collision.

58 Lucid Creatures asleep within 10 feet see the item in their dreams.

59 Decorous Insists the user use polite language.

60 Junky Appears shoddy or made of scraps.

61 Cavorting Dances in place when not in use.

62 Furry Covered by a thin coat of fur.

63 Unusually colored An outlandish color, such as a bright purple suit of armor.

64 Sonorous Sounds a pure tone when struck.

65 Starry Seems made of night sky.

66 Compact Packs neatly into a smaller form.

67 Misting Constantly leaking mist or steam.

68 Chirping Coos and squeaks when used.

69 Balanced Always remains perfectly upright.

70 Sun-blocking User never receives sunburns.

71 Animal-attracting Harmless animals follow the user.

72 Flaunting Forces user to move dramatically.

73 Tracing Followed by thin trails of color.

74 Monologuing Recites long lectures or speeches.

75 Foretelling Makes mysterious predictions.

76 Adhesive Sticks slightly to any surface.

77 Levitating Floats slightly above a surface.

78 Slimy Covered by a thin layer of slime.

79 Commentating Remarks on its surroundings.

80 Numbing User is less sensitive to pain.

81 Time-telling Announces the current time.

82 Towering User is slightly taller.

83 Absorbent Absorbs up to one pint of liquid.

84 Faceted Appears made of crystal or gems.

85 Bubbly Creates bubbles when used.

86 Image-flipping User appears to be mirrored.

87 Hair-growing User's hair grows at double rate.

88 Alternating Appearance slowly changes.

89 Sweaty Becomes damp and pungent when used extensively.

90 Glittering Shimmers and glows with light.

91 Molting Sheds a thick film every morning.

92 Echoing Sounds around the user echo.

93 Shadowless Item and user cast no shadow.

94 Storytelling Is inscribed with a story or knows a tale it can recite on command.

95 Chilled Slightly cool to the touch.

96 Color-washing User's vision shifts to a given coloration, such as sepia or monochrome.

97 Growing Increases in size when used.

98 Floating Slowly descends when dropped.

99 Two quirks Roll twice on the table and apply both quirks to the item. Reroll any results of 99 or 100.

100 Three quirks Roll three times on the table and apply all quirks to the item. Reroll any results of 99 or 100.

Gamemastery Guide, page 86.

Pervasive Magic

While the majority of Golarion has a substantial amount of magic, it is not ubiquitous. In other worlds, though, magic could be everywhere—a part of everyday life.
Creatures on these worlds have an affinity with at least one of the magic traditions, and most are capable of at least simple spellcasting.

Rarity: Rare

GMs can use the pervasive magic rules found here to create worlds where magic flows freely (or to alter only parts of a setting to be especially high in magic; see page
222 for ideas on how to incorporate pervasive magic rules into the Lost Omens setting).

Adding magical traits to a campaign can enrich the setting and make it more memorable. Perhaps a cataclysmic, magical event turned part of the world into a barren
wasteland—those desolated plains might still hold enough residual magic to apply the pervasive magic rules. Creatures and characters in an area might all have the
arcane trait, or mountain lakes tied to the Elemental Plane of Water might infuse the nearby terrain and its inhabitants with primal magic. The constant efforts of
secretive cults might cause occult power to leak into the sewers and tunnels beneath a bustling city.

The GM must decide when first creating a campaign if it uses the pervasive magic rules. In pervasive magic campaigns, players choose their characters' associated
magic trait and can select from the pervasive magic backgrounds and feats presented starting on page 219. Because pervasive magic represents a slight power increase
overall, it's recommended that if some characters in the setting have access to pervasive magic, then all characters should to maintain balance.

Tradition Traits

Every creature in a pervasive magic campaign, including PCs, has a trait associated with one of the magical traditions. Note that this trait is inherent and a circumstance
of nature, independent of class choice—a character with the primal tradition trait can still study to be a wizard and cast arcane spells. See page 220 for how to adjust
creature stats in areas of pervasive magic. You might see primal manticores, arcane ogres, occult gold dragons, or divine flesh golems.

Creatures (including PCs) gain the following:

 A trait associated with one of the magic traditions: arcane, divine, occult, or primal.

 The ability to cast a cantrip (PCs choose one upon character creation) from the tradition associated with that trait.

 The Cast a Spell activity.

 Proficiency rank in spell DCs and spell attack rolls with the chosen tradition equal to their class DC or their highest proficiency rank in spell DCs, whichever
is higher. They can choose any mental ability score (Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma) to be associated with their innate spells granted by pervasive magic.

 Access to backgrounds and feats with the pervasive magic trait (see below).

Magical Backgrounds

Characters in pervasive magic campaigns choose backgrounds normally, but they also have access to backgrounds that represent the influence of constant and powerful
magic during their lives. Some of these backgrounds determine your innate magical trait.

Energy Scarred

BACKGROUND

[–]

rare magic pervasive

Exposure to a significant magical event overloaded you with magical energy. Perhaps you were exposed to dangerous levels of magical energy that left you near death,
or it built up over long-term exposure to a powerful source of magic.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be Constitution and one is a free ability boost.

Your innate magical trait is primal. Choose acid, cold, electricity, fire, force, negative, positive, or sonic. You are trained in a Lore skill associated with the chosen
energy (such as Fire Lore) and you gain resistance to that energy type equal to half your level (minimum 1).

Secrets of Magic, page 219.

Mystic Tutor

BACKGROUND

[–]

rare magic pervasive

You spent years predicting, identifying, and harnessing the innate magical talents of those around you. A magic-rich world has taught you that you can never have too
much training when everyone around you is capable of magic.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be Intelligence or Wisdom and one is a free ability boost.

Your innate magical trait is arcane or occult. You're trained in either Arcana or Occultism, depending on your innate magical trait, and the Academia Lore skill. You
gain the Recognize Spell skill feat.

Secrets of Magic, page 219.

Surge Investigator

BACKGROUND

[–]

rare magic pervasive

From rivers that charm all who come near to forests that speak through dream messages, you have seen and studied many kinds of magical terrain. The world is so rich
in magic that it can affect the land itself, and you have traveled extensively to learn the ways of identifying the oddities of magical terrain wherever it arises.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be Constitution or Wisdom and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in your choice of Nature or Occultism and the Magical Terrain Lore skill. You gain the Terrain Expertise skill feat.

Secrets of Magic, page 219.

Feats

This section presents new feats that are available only to creatures or characters from pervasive magic campaigns. All of these feats are class feats, but they can be taken
by any class. When you take the feat, it gains the trait appropriate for your class.

Cantrip Casting

FEAT 2

[–]

rare pervasive magic

You increase your ability to cast simple spells. You gain two additional cantrips from the tradition matching your trait.

Basic Spellcasting

FEAT 4

[–]

rare pervasive magic

Prerequisites Cantrip Casting

You increase your ability to cast spells. You gain the basic spellcasting benefits granted by spellcasting archetypes, gaining a spell repertoire. Each time you gain a spell
slot of a new level from the basic, expert, and master spellcasting benefits from pervasive magic feats, add a spell of the appropriate spell level to your repertoire: a
common spell of the magical tradition matching your trait, or another spell of that tradition that you have learned or discovered.

Expert Spellcasting

FEAT 12

[–]

rare pervasive magic

Prerequisites Basic Spellcasting

You gain the expert spellcasting archetype benefits.

Master Spellcasting

FEAT 18

[–]

rare pervasive magic

Prerequisites Expert Spellcasting

You gain the master spellcasting archetype benefits.

Creature Adjustments

In a world of pervasive magic, creatures gain at least one trait associated with a magical tradition. These traits reflect the creature's innate magical nature. In areas of
localized pervasive magic, these traits represent the area itself.

Arcane Adjustments

The creature gains the arcane trait and can cast a single innate spell from the arcane spell list once per day. Use the creature's level (see the table below) to determine the
spell's level. Use the spell DC and spell attack roll on the table if the creature does not already have those statistics.

Creature Level Spell Level (Statistics) Suggested Spells

–1 to 2 Cantrip (DC 15, attack +7) Daze, detect magic, shield, telekinetic projectile
3 to 4 1st (DC 18, attack +10) Charm, fleet step, grim tendrils, magic missile, sleep

5 to 6 2nd (DC 21, attack +13) Blur, invisibility, mirror image, see invisibility, spider climb

7 to 8 3rd (DC 23, attack +15) Blindness, fireball, haste, hypnotic pattern, lightning bolt, wall of wind

9 to 10 4th (DC 26, attack +18) Blink, confusion, fire shield, freedom of movement, wall of fire

11 to 12 5th (DC 29, attack +21) Cloak of colors, cloudkill, cone of cold, tongues

13 to 14 6th (DC 31, attack +23) Chain lightning, spellwrack, true seeing

15 to 16 7th (DC 34, attack +26) Fiery body, prismatic spray, true target

17 to 18 8th (DC 35, attack +27) Disappearance, horrid wilting, maze

19 to 20 9th (DC 38, attack +30) Meteor swarm, prismatic sphere

21 or higher 10th (DC 42, attack +34) Time stop, wish

Divine Adjustments

The creature gains the divine trait and can cast a single innate spell from the divine spell list once per day. Use the creature's level (see the table below) to determine the
spell's level. Use the spell DC and spell attack roll on the table if the creature does not already have those statistics.

Creature Level Spell Level (Statistics) Suggested Spells

–1 to 2 Cantrip (DC 15, attack +7) Detect magic, divine lance, guidance, light

3 to 4 1st (DC 18, attack +10) Bane, bless, heal, sanctuary

5 to 6 2nd (DC 21, attack +13) Death knell, restoration, silence, spiritual weapon

7 to 8 3rd (DC 23, attack +15) Chilling darkness, heroism, sanctified ground, searing light

9 to 10 4th (DC 26, attack +18) Divine wrath, spell immunity

11 to 12 5th (DC 29, attack +21) Abyssal plague, flame strike, sending, spiritual guardian

13 to 14 6th (DC 31, attack +23) Blade barrier, righteous might

15 to 16 7th (DC 34, attack +26) Eclipse burst, energy aegis, sunburst

17 to 18 8th (DC 35, attack +27) Divine aura, spiritual epidemic

19 to 20 9th (DC 38, attack +30) Overwhelming presence, wail of the banshee

21 or higher 10th (DC 42, attack +34) Miracle, revival

Occult Adjustments

The creature gains the occult trait and can cast a single innate spell from the occult spell list once per day. Use the creature's level (see the table below) to determine the
spell's level. Use the spell DC and spell attack roll on the table if the creature does not already have those statistics.

Creature Level Spell Level (Statistics) Suggested Spells

–1 to 2 Cantrip (DC 15, attack +7) Chill touch, guidance, ghost sound, shield

3 to 4 1st (DC 18, attack +10) Bane, charm, fear, grim tendrils, ray of enfeeblement

5 to 6 2nd (DC 21, attack +13) Darkness, false life, paranoia

7 to 8 3rd (DC 23, attack +15) Enthrall, haste, slow

9 to 10 4th (DC 26, attack +18) Confusion, phantasmal killer, suggestion

11 to 12 5th (DC 29, attack +21) Abyssal plague, black tentacles, crushing despair

13 to 14 6th (DC 31, attack +23) Feeblemind, repulsion, spirit blast

15 to 16 7th (DC 34, attack +26) Mask of terror, visions of danger, warp mind

17 to 18 8th (DC 35, attack +27) Maze, mind, spirit song, uncontrollable dance

19 to 20 9th (DC 38, attack +30) Telepathic demand, unfathomable song

21 or higher 10th (DC 42, attack +34) Alter reality, fabricated truth
Primal Adjustments

The creature gains the primal trait and can cast a single innate spell from the primal spell list once per day. Use the creature's level (see the table below) to determine the
spell's level. Use the spell DC and spell attack roll on the table if the creature does not already have those statistics.

Creature Level Spell Level (Statistics) Suggested Spells

–1 to 2 Cantrip (DC 15, attack +7) Electric arc, produce flame

3 to 4 1st (DC 18, attack +10) Heal, jump, magic fang, pass without trace

5 to 6 2nd (DC 21, attack +13) Barkskin, enlarge, resist energy, shatter

7 to 8 3rd (DC 23, attack +15) Blindness, slow, stinking cloud

9 to 10 4th (DC 26, attack +18) Air walk, freedom of movement, solid fog

11 to 12 5th (DC 29, attack +21) Cloudkill, elemental form, wall of ice

13 to 14 6th (DC 31, attack +23) Baleful polymorph, field of life, tangling creepers

15 to 16 7th (DC 34, attack +26) Eclipse burst, regenerate, sunburst, {volcanic eruption}

17 to 18 8th (DC 35, attack +27) Earthquake, horrid wilting, punishing winds

19 to 20 9th (DC 38, attack +30) Nature's enmity, storm of vengeance

21 or higher 10th (DC 42, attack +34) Cataclysm, primal phenomenon

Magical Terrain

From a city where strange lights flit from street to street, a cavern that can't be found by scrying, or a bog where illusions frolic, magical terrain can create memorable
locations and challenges. This section describes several types of magical terrain that the GM can use in a pervasive magic setting. The size and location of each type of
terrain is entirely up to the GM. The effects of magical terrain can be constant, or they might occur only under certain circumstances, such as a forest that becomes
home to potent arcane magic only at night, or every century an eclipse on the winter solstice subjects a nearby city to ghoulish hunger.

Magical terrain fits well into pervasive magic campaigns, but can be used in any campaign as a way to help create unique and memorable encounters.

Energy Surge Terrain

Choose an energy type (acid, cold, electricity, fire, force, negative, positive, or sonic). Whenever a magic effect does damage of that type, it does additional damage
(usually 1d6 additional damage, but the GM might increase or decrease the amount to depict stronger or weaker areas of surging energy).

Heightened Terrain

This type of terrain heightens spells cast within it. An area of heightened terrain could alter anything from a single spell to an entire school of magic or magical
tradition. These areas vary greatly in appearance, evincing the influence of the specific type of magic heightened. Spells that match the criteria are heightened 1 level
above the spell level they were cast at.

Metamagic Terrain

Any eligible spell cast in this terrain has a particular metamagic effect added to it—typically Reach Spell or Widen Spell. If the caster uses a metamagic action before
casting a spell, that action overrides the terrain's metamagic effect. These areas usually appear fairly normal, but fountains of magical energy spring up around a caster
when they begin Casting a Spell.

Occult Magic Terrain

In areas of occult magic, emotions run hotter, passions flare, and a mysterious intent permeates.

Any creature casting an occult spell gains a +1 circumstance bonus to Will saves, Deception checks, Diplomacy checks, Intimidation checks, and Performance checks
until the end of its next turn.

Primal Magic Terrain

In areas of primal magic, plant life is lusher, experiences are more vivid, and instincts are sharper—the land itself seems vibrant and alive.

Creatures who cast a primal spell here gain a +10-foot status bonus to Speeds until the end of their next turn.

Spell-Touched Terrain

Spell-touched terrain is enchanted with either a permanent spell effect or cast spells periodically.

Permanent Spell Effects: This terrain, or all creatures in it, is affected by a certain spell. For example, all creatures in an area might be affected by blink, or any
creature that attempts to jump is automatically affected by a jump spell. There might be a condition required before a creature gains the effects.
Periodic Spell Casting: The terrain itself casts spells at set intervals. These spells can affect all creatures, random creatures, or certain subcategories of creatures at the
GM's discretion, and they might require a specific condition before they occur.

Limiting Pervasive Magic

This section assumes that pervasive magic is an option the GM chooses to help make a memorable high-magic campaign with a unique feel, but these rules can still be
used in a way that doesn't have to be quite as... pervasive. Using these rules only in specific parts of the world can help make adventures feel special and allows you to
introduce the pervasive magic a campaign that's already in progress. You can imbue a location of any size with pervasive magic, from a nation where everyone is
imbued with an affinity for fire magic to a lonely forest glade where certain spells are more powerful.

Example Pervasive Magic Locations

Use the following list as inspiration when thinking of places in your campaign where the pervasive magic rules might apply.

 A waterfall that grants heroism to anyone who survives a plunge from its heights.

 A cavern that casts hallucinatory terrain, preventing spelunkers from finding the exit.

 A remote spring that removes a curse or disease once per year for those who bathe in its waters.

 An impassable forest that frequently casts tanglefoot and entangle on creatures not native to its reaches.

 A tavern where one patron each night is the target of a hideous laughter spell.

Pervasive Magic in the Inner Sea

There are many places on Golarion that could fit thematically in campaigns including pervasive magic or localized pervasive magic. The following are some examples
of how GMs could apply pervasive magic rules to some of these areas.

Absalom and Starstone Isle

Traces of the dead god Aroden's divine power might create areas of pervasive magic. Creatures of any type might gain the divine trait.

Starstone Cathedral: The magic of the Starstone could make this divine spell-touched terrain.

Tyrant's Grasp: The site of the Whispering Tyrant's defeat is still suffused with powerful necromantic magic. Necromantic spells could be heightened in this area.

Broken Lands

The Broken Lands are marked by areas where primal magic flourishes. Wild creatures from these regions might show primal traits.

River Kingdoms: The River Kingdoms, like other places with powerful First World connections, might feature areas of magical terrain with primal surges or areas
where primal spells are heightened.

Sarkoris: The lingering effects of the Worldwound could create powerful pervasive magic effects in this region, boosting spells connected to the Abyss but risking
corruption to spellcasters who rely too heavily on it.

Eye of Dread

The Eye of Dread region has seen multiple events of immense magical power, and pockets of pervasive magic could riddle the entire region.

Gallowspire: The broken fortress of Tar-Baphon still teems with power. It might heighten necromantic magic and imbue undead inhabitants with the arcane trait.

Nirmathas: Nirmathas has strong First World connections through the Fangwood forest and could be filled with primal magic near portals to the First World.

Golden Road

Mostly due to the influence of Ancient Osirion, divine spell-touched terrain might appear in the region.

Black Desert: The power of unlife flourishes in this Vault deep in the Darklands. All necromancy spells could be heightened, and undead creatures from this area might
gain the divine trait.

High Seas

Even the waters of the High Seas could hold locations where magic is pervasive.

Azlanti Ruins: The various ruins of Azlant might contain several variations of pervasive magic effects, most likely enhancing or affecting arcane magic.

Eye of Abendego: The unceasing storm might heighten and enhance air- or wind-affecting magic. Creatures in the area might gain the primal magic trait.

Impossible Lands

The Impossible Lands is the most magic-infused region in the Inner Sea. Many types of pervasive magic effects and terrain might be found throughout its reaches.

Geb: Geb's cities, especially the capital of Mechitar, might have heightened necromantic magic.
Jalmeray: The island nation might have energy surge terrain or other such areas that heighten elemental magic.

Nex: Several prominent locations within the magical kingdom might heighten arcane magic.

Mwangi Expanse

The Mwangi Expanse is a verdant region, and it could have pockets of primal magic terrain secreted throughout its wild lands.

Mzali: The temple-city of Mzali was once the center of an empire ruled by divine sun kings. A few creatures in this area might have the divine trait, and divine magic
could be heightened in parts of the city proper.

Ruins of Kho: These ruins of the first Shory flying city, smashed to the earth by the Tarrasque, still sputter with magical energies. Creatures from areas near the fallen
city might gain the arcane trait, and arcane magic could be heightened in the area. Specific spots among the ruins might feature various types of energy surge terrain.

Old Cheliax

Cheliax's connection to Hell and Nidal's ties to Zon-Kuthon might manifest as areas of divine spell-touched terrain.

Barrowood: While fey influences might lead to some areas of primal magic terrain, the Winter Grove where the first queen of House Thrune made her infernal pact
could be covered in powerful Hellish, divine spell-touched terrain.

Nidal: The pall of darkness over Nidal might qualify as a powerful type of spell-touched terrain in a pervasive magic game, and there could be even more twisted
manifestations of Zon-Kuthon across the land.

Saga Lands

The Saga Lands are potential places for pervasive magic that enhances primal spells. Additionally, Thassilonian ruins might enhance magic associated with a particular
school of magic (excluding divination).

Lands of the Linnorm Kings: Places with potent First World connections might qualify as primal magic terrain.

Shining Kingdoms

Many small areas of the Shining Kingdoms contain portals to the First World, and therefore might have the characteristic touch of primal magic common to such areas.

Darkmoon Vale: The area's affinity for evocation magic might make even innocuous creatures capable of dangerous magical bursts.

Secrets of Magic, page 218.

Soulforged Armaments

Unrelenting commitment to a single purpose. Zealous compulsion to right a wrong. The inability to leave an important deed undone. These qualities have long served
as primordial and potent components of magic. No starlet dropping, strand of spider's web, or poorly pronounced draconic sonnet can rival the power of belief. Tales
of soulforged weapons, shields, and armor—equipment created from the tenacity of a combatant's spirit alone—have circulated throughout Golarion for centuries.

Rarity: Uncommon

Soulforged armaments can be summoned only in the service of a higher purpose or calling, such as a blade called forth to avenge a wrongful death or a shield conjured
to protect one's homeland from invasion. Weaponry, shields, or armor created in this way often visually resemble the purpose they were summoned to fulfill. For
example, a dagger forged from a soulbond to assassinate the high council of a tyrannical nation might bear the names or likenesses of the targets—only to see them
crossed out or fade from view as each is eliminated.

Soulforged Tales

“Woe to ye who wield the arsenal of the spirit carelessly. For just as unyielding devotion forges the soul into a powerful weapon, so too can reckless fervor tarnish it.”

— Rolantus Meltravius, The Armory Within

The stories of soulforged armaments echo through history. The idea takes root even in those untaught in the methods of magic, as anyone can envisage a commitment so
strong it becomes a righteous force for change or justice.

Legend holds that when the Milanite champion Anavariel confronted a gnoll slaver deep within the Fangwood, something remarkable happened. Disarmed, bloodied,
and prone, Anavariel refused to surrender—lest she abandon the four hostages chained to the gnoll's hyaenodon. When the priestess raised her empty fist to strike, she
found she hefted a morningstar that sprouted from her palm like a vine and bore flanges as sharp as the thorns of a rose. The weapon hadn't originated from prayer,
scroll, or relic, but rather from the desire to rid Cheliax of slavery burning deep within Anavariel's soul.

Binding an Armament
You bind an armament—a weapon, shield, or suit of armor—to your soul when you select the Soulforger Dedication feat. This represents performing a special ritual to
do so. You can choose an item you own to make soulforged or spontaneously manifest an item with a form drawn from your spiritual essence. In the latter case, you
choose the form, selecting a mundane weapon, shield, or armor of level 1 or lower, either common or one to which you have access. An existing armament is
deconstructed and then recreated with the substance of your soul binding it together, which changes the appearance to match the state of your soul. It might have a
perfect surface and gleam in the faintest light if you have a noble soul or have a twisting, chaotic shape if your soul is wracked with turmoil. This appearance can
change based on your actions. Most soulforgers also choose a unique name for their armament.

Traits: A soulforged armament is always magical. If it doesn't otherwise have any traits that make it magical, it gains the magical and evocation traits if it's a weapon or
the magical and abjuration traits if it's a shield or armor.

Extradimensional Storage: The armament is stored in an extradimensional space when not in use, and you can Manifest it to summon it into your hands or onto your
body. A soulforged armament can be Dropped, Disarmed, or otherwise removed from you, but its soulforged abilities don't function for anyone else, and you
can Dismiss the manifestation to return the items to the extradimensional space no matter where the items are. If you die or choose to pass ownership of a soulforged
armament to a successor, it loses any soulforged abilities; violating the spirit of the soulforged bond by selling the item tends to have disastrous results. There might be
special techniques or rituals by which a determined foe can break your bond with a soulforged item, but otherwise, your ability to Dismiss and Manifest it essentially
means it can't be stolen.

Essence Power: Choose one essence power for your soulforged armament. You can bring the essence power forth once per day by tapping into the armament's essence
form deep in your soul; essence powers can be found on page 236. You also choose a soulbond—a cause true to your soul that links you and your armament. Going
against this cause can give your armament a soulbond corruption that hinders you even while the armament isn't manifested.

Special Armament Types

The types of items you can choose for your armaments are fairly flexible, but some require special rules.

Specific Items

You can turn a specific item into your armament, such as a flame tongue or sturdy shield, though some unusual or special items can't be bonded, such as cursed items,
artifacts, and intelligent items, in addition to other story-specific items at the GM's discretion. Bonding a specific item follows the standard procedure for upgrading or
reshaping your armament.

Ammunition

If a soulforged weapon requires ammunition, that ammunition appears with the weapon when you Manifest it. You can choose the way it appears, such as in a magical
quiver that appears on your body, or simply floating in the air where you can pluck it to load or shoot your weapon. The form doesn't change how many or what type of
actions reloading takes or any other functions of the ammunition. If you want anything other than basic ammunition for your weapon (such as a sleep arrow), you must
attain and carry that ammunition separately.

Dual Weapons

You can choose two one-handed weapons you want to wield simultaneously as your soulforged weapons. When you Manifest Soulforged Armament, both weapons
appear. Because they're a pair, you must Manifest them together, having two hands free to do so, and Dismiss them simultaneously as well. The essence power applies
to both weapons, so they share benefits like the new damage type and status bonus to damage from planar pain. However, you get any effects the bond grants you only
once, as the dual weapons function as a single armament. For instance, if your essence power is healing grace, you can cast one heal spell when you manifest the
essence form of your dual weapons, not two.

Attached Weapons

An attached weapon (such as a shield boss or shield spikes) brings the item it's attached to with it when manifested or Dismissed. Manifest Soulforged Armament uses
the item the weapon is attached to for its Requirements, so a shield boss would require you to have a hand free to hold the shield. If you have Soul Arsenal, you could
have a soulforged weapon attached to a soulforged shield. These items work normally for Soul Arsenal, except that you can neither Manifest nor Dismiss one without
the other.

Soul Path

When you take Soulforger Dedication, you must choose a soul path—a motivation, cause, or goal that compels you to act, prompts you to undertake substantial risk,
and drives you to face significant danger. Such a motivation can be limited or grand in scope but must be actionable enough to be easily linked to gameplay. For
example, if your village was destroyed by the greed of wealthy nobles, you might select a soul path to protect the poor by undermining the rich, which might drive you
to protect an innocent from the blade of a wealthy noble or break into a bank vault containing coins stolen from destitute villagers. Other sample soulbonds might
include liberating the oppressed from the tyranny of slavery, punishing those who threaten nature or hunting and killing malevolent undead. Work with the GM to
choose a soul path that fits in well with the themes of your campaign and group dynamic so that you can pursue your soul path in an interesting fashion.

Corruption

Though the supernatural link with a specific armament created by a soulbond is powerful, the sensitive nature of will—with its potential for dramatic ebb and flow—
poses a threat to those who harness this power. Once you're bound to a soulforged armament, you begin to test your true devotion to your soul path.

If you behave or act in a way that directly opposes or hinders the motivation, goal, or cause declared in your soul path (regardless of whether the act involves your
soulforged armaments), your spirit begins to tarnish. It's anathema for you to commit acts opposed to your soul path or to even go a long time without taking action to
pursue the path. You and your GM determine when you've performed an anathematic act. In the example of protecting the poor by undermining the rich, working for a
wealthy noble or directly in their interest could be anathema, as could spending a month on a distant plane far from the struggles of the oppressed. In both examples,
you could find an approach to remain true and avoid the anathema. In the first case, you might use your leverage to force the noble to anonymously divest a substantial
amount of their funds to feed and house the poor—or do so yourself. In the second, you might seek a similar dynamic of wealth and want among the cultures of the
distant plane and work against it.

Anathematic acts trigger a curse known as soulforged corruption that degrades and perverts the energies within your soulforged armament. This curse brings out a flaw
inextricably tied to the armament's true essence. The corruption flaw applies to you even when your armament isn't manifested. The rules for the flaw appear in the
essence power. As normal for a curse, this affliction can be removed only by effects that specifically target curses, including the methods listed in the Removing
Corruption section below.

Removing Corruption

The effects of soulforged corruption can be staved off with the Cleanse Soul Path exploration activity or cured with the purify soul path ritual.

Soulforged Champions

The most exalted wielders of soulforged weapons have been champions, and they're much more common than other wielders. If you're a champion, you can tie your
soul path to your cause. Being a champion sets a steady soul path before you; you can choose for your soul path to be the same as the tenets you follow. Corruption still
comes about the same way, as it's much easier to corrupt your connection to your soulforged armament than to stray far enough from your alignment or code that you
must atone.

You can also have your blade ally or shield ally be your soulforged armament. You can choose particulars that fit your own story, but doing so usually means the ally is
more a reflection of your conscience than a specific spiritual being sent by your deity.

Finally, if you commit actions that both cause you to lose your champion abilities and corrupt your soulforged armament, undergoing the atone ritual also gives you the
effects of the purify soul path ritual with the same degree of success you rolled for atone.

Characters other than champions can also choose a champion cause to tie to their soul path, and devout characters sometimes tie their soul path to their deity's tenets and
anathema.

Upgrading, Reshaping, Restoring

You might want to alter your soulbound armament by adding new runes, replacing its form with a new one, or creating a new armament after yours was destroyed. You
decide whether you consider this new armament as the same armament of the same lineage or a brand-new creation with a totally different appearance and name.

Upgrading your armament works like etching or transferring runes (Core Rulebook 580) or upgrading a permanent item from a lower-level version of the same item
(Core Rulebook 534), whichever is appropriate to what you're doing. You or someone else can do the work, but you must leave the item manifested for the entire
process. You can transfer runes off your armament as well, typically in anticipation of establishing your bond with a different item.

Reshaping your armament allows you to change the base weapon, armor, or shield into another of the same type, turning half plate armor into full plate, changing a
warhammer into a longbow, and so on. If all you do is change the form while keeping the same runes and other magical properties, you can do so by spending a day in
meditation. This doesn't cost any gp or extra time unless the new form is higher than level 1, or unless the difference is so vast that the GM determines it might take
additional time and cost. For example, turning explorer's clothing into full plate requires the same time, expense, and Crafting check you'd need to Craft full plate since
full plate is a level 2 item. Specific items can't be reshaped in this way unless the GM expressly allows it. You can't turn a flame tongue into a spiked chain, a breastplate
of command into hide armor, or a sturdy shield into a darkwood shield. You can also use this day in meditation to rebind your soul to a different item in your possession.
Typically, you keep the old item, its power removed, as a special keepsake or gift to a worthy successor, though attempting to disrespect the spirit of the bond by selling
the item can have dire consequences. Since the essence power you chose represents the effects of the connection to your soul, the essence power typically doesn't
change when you bind a new armament, though if your character's personality and connections change dramatically through the story, you and the GM might decide
together to shift to a different essence power the next time you bind a new armament. If you rebind your soul to an armament that can't accommodate your current
essence power, you will also need to change to a different essence power.

You can recreate a destroyed soulforged armament, or bond to a new armament if your previous one was destroyed. (If it was destroyed by soulforged corruption, you
must first successfully use purify soul path.) Recreating costs the same amount of time and money as creating the item from scratch. If you already have an item with
which to form a new bond, it takes 1 day in meditation, as with reshaping an armament.

You can find the Soulforger archetype on the archetypes page.

Secrets of Magic, page 232.

Victory Points

You'll often find that your games could use a way to track progress toward a goal so that you don't have to just keep everything in your head. This section explains how
to build your own subsystems for tracking success via Victory Points. Many other subsystems throughout the chapter use these as well, though often by a different name.
Victory Points (or VP) are a powerful tool in your GM arsenal, as they allow you to track the PCs' progress using a subsystem to go beyond the results of a single check.
Victory Points are versatile; you could track and resolve them within a single encounter, or you could collect them over the course of an entire campaign to determine
the ending of the story.

Naming Your Victory Points

It can be fun to rename your Victory Points, to better reflect the subsystem they track.

The term "Victory Points" is unspecific, so you can create a name for your Victory Points that fits the theme of your adventure and helps the players feel more like they
are taking part in the type of activity your subsystem represents. Examples of renamed VPs include Influence Points (page 151), Infiltration Points (page 160), Research
Points (page 154), and Reputation Points (page 164). The name should be representative, and the PCs should understand what it refers to. You can leave off the word
"Points" if you prefer, though this section often retains it while describing how Victory Points can be used.

Victory Point Subsystem Structures

There are a few common structures for tracking Victory Points that you might use for your new subsystem.

You could come up with a structure based off one of the subsystems below, or you could create your own completely different structure if none of them match the way
you're running your game. The most important thing is to consider how the PCs or their opposition gain or lose various forms of Victory Points.

Accumulating Victory Points

The most common structure is to accumulate Victory Points toward a total, either stopping after reaching a success threshold or collecting as many Victory Points as
possible in a given time frame and then measuring the results against various thresholds. The influence subsystem on page 151 is a great example of this structure in
action: each PC has a certain number of chances to influence various NPCs, and after reaching a particular threshold of Victory Points with an NPC, the PCs have
convinced that NPC.

In a variation of this structure, the PCs' adversaries can also accumulate Victory Points, giving the PCs a moving target—either to reach the goal before the adversary or
to have more Victory Points than the adversary at the end of a given time frame. This is a great structure for you to use in a situation where the PCs face opposition
rather than having the PCs accumulate Victory Points while adversaries decrease the total, since it's dynamic and less at risk of resulting in a stalemate.

You can track a subsystem at a larger scale, like over the course of an adventure or campaign, by granting the PCs Victory Points for achieving difficult goals or making
particular decisions. Such subsystems usually ask the PCs to compare their accumulated Victory Points against several ranked tiers that each having varying results on
the story. Typically these results become more positive for the PCs as they acquire more Victory Points, but sometimes succeeding too fully could have unintended
consequences, like convincing the workers to support a rebellion so thoroughly that it riles up a mob. If you're making your own subsystem, you might not define these
ranks in full, but just use your best guess at the end.

Accumulating Rolls

In cases where the PCs need to make checks to gain Victory Points, the amount they get for the degrees of success is up to you. The default scale detailed below works
in most cases.

Critical Success The PCs gain 2 Victory Points.Success The PCs gain 1 Victory Point.Critical Failure The PCs lose 1 Victory Point.

This means that the result of a PC's check usually results in the party gaining either 1 or no Victory Points. However, specialized PCs have a solid chance of earning the
party 2 Victory Points, and hare-brained schemes have a fair chance of losing the PCs 1 Victory Point.

Diminishing Victory Points

Using this method, the PCs start with a certain number of Victory Points, and rather than accumulating them, they attempt to avoid losing them. Perhaps the PCs are
trying to keep dragon eggs from cracking, or are otherwise attempting to minimize damage, loss, or danger. This variant is less common, but it's great at conveying the
urgency of a situation as the PCs lose points. Sometimes it's necessary to add that sense of tension with this subsystem! Typically, when the PCs lose all their Victory
Points, a negative event occurs.

If they're on a timer, the final results might be better the more points they manage to keep before the time runs out.

Diminishing Rolls

Using this structure, the PCs typically lose Victory Points as a result of failed checks, though they can still lose them for making particularly poor decisions or behaving
recklessly. Once again, you can use any scaling consequences that make sense, but the default degrees of success are as follows.

Critical Success If regaining ground is possible, the PCs gain 1 Victory Point. Otherwise, as success.Success The PCs avoid losing any Victory Points.Failure The PCs
lose 1 Victory Point.Critical Failure The PCs lose 2 Victory Points.

Multiple Point Subsystems

In a multiple point subsystem, you have more than one point system, each measuring something different. For example, in a long-distance race, the PCs and their
opponents both try to gain their own Marathon Points, and whoever gets to 10 points first wins!

Infiltration on page 160 offers a different example of a Victory Point subsystem with multiple types of points. PCs try to get a certain number of Infiltration Points to
successfully infiltrate a location while avoiding giving Awareness Points to their enemies through failure.

Consider combining the multiple points with a time factor, like in infiltrations, where the PCs automatically accrue Awareness Points over time at a slow rate.
Obstacles and Dcs

When preparing your subsystem, think of the obstacles PCs might face or avenues they can exploit when engaging in your subsystem. Set some DCs for them in
advance, using the normal system for setting DCs. Everything else, you can improvise on the spot. If you think your DCs will be higher overall, when you set the
number of points needed, choose a value on the lower end (see Setting your Scale below)

Think of some possibilities that are much easier and some that are harder. Who are your PCs opposing, and what weak points might that opposition have that the PCs
could exploit? Set those DCs lower or make overcoming them grant more VP. PCs who do their research or come up with clever strategies should find it easier to
overcome the challenge.

ENEMY VICTORY POINTS

In addition to giving both the PCs and enemies Victory Points, as mentioned on page 149, sometimes it makes more sense to have only the enemies gain or lose Victory
Points instead of the PCs. Even though the NPCs are also taking actions, it's usually best to increase or reduce the enemy's Victory Points based on just the PCs' actions,
since it maximizes the feeling of player agency. In some rare cases where the foes act directly against the PCs, you might have both PC and foe actions increase the foe's
Victory Points.

Implementing such a subsystem might mean flipping the normal rolls. For instance, if the PCs were trying to lower their enemies' Influence over a faction, a critical
success by a PC would lower the Influence by 2, a success would lower the Influence by 1, and a critical failure might give the enemies something to exploit, raising
their Influence by 1. This uses the same effects as an accumulating roll, but "damages" the enemies' VP instead of gaining VP for the PCs' side. While this is very
similar mechanically to the PCs gaining VP, the thematic connection is much stronger for an intrigue-based story.

Setting Your Scale

The number of points it takes to reach a goal will greatly affect how your subsystem feels during play. If you want the subsystem to be used for a single scene, such as
one negotiation with a powerful NPC, set the number lower than if it's meant to take up most or all of a game session. The Table 3–1 (page 150) suggests possible
values for your Victory Point scale. The "adventure-wide" scale is for subsystems that are part of a larger narrative, granting Victory Points when the PCs overcome
entire encounters or dungeons, rather than as an encounter unfolds.

This larger scale is intended for subsystems that take a lot of the party's focus. A subsystem that runs in the background during an adventure should use a smaller scale.
This is usually the "adventure-wide, sideline" value. It could be even lower, such as if you have a dungeon-based adventure including several opportunities to interact
with a kobold tribe to get some small benefits. Though they appear throughout the adventure, you would use a lower value because attaining the VP is a minor part of
the story. In fact, you might choose not to use a VP subsystem at all.

The table also lists numbers for one or more thresholds. These are the point values at which the PCs get a partial benefit (or, for a diminishing subsystem, take a
drawback). You should grant partial benefits when the PCs reach a certain threshold or introduce twists to the subsystem to ensure they continue to feel engaged and
rewarded over time.

TABLE 3-1: VICTORY POINT SCALES

Duration of Challenge

VP End Point

VP Threshold

Quick Encounter

3-5

Long Encounter

7-10

Most of a session

15-25

5, 10, 15

Adventure-wide, sideline

15-20

5, 10, 15

Adventure-wide, forefront

25-50

10, 20, 30, 40

The values also depend on various factors. These might include the DCs, the number of chances the PCs get to gain Victory Points, and the flexibility of how the PCs
can deploy themselves (for example, if PCs are all forced to try something they might not be trained in, it could cause critical failures). They might also include the
amount of effort the PCs need to spend on tasks that don't directly earn Victory Points—such as checks to Discover information about NPCs using the Influence
subsystem. Keep all these in mind when deciding what end point you want to use.

Running Your Subsystem

When running your new subsystem, be sure to keep the challenges fresh by using a variety of different skills and options to encourage creativity and cooperation, rather
than just using the same check over and over again, where PCs can expect diminishing returns. You can also use timers to encourage each PC to participate or even
create mechanics that directly encourage each PC to participate, like setting penalties for the same PC attempting checks repeatedly, or for two PCs attempting the same
check.

You can even have challenges that require all the PCs to participate. For instance, if the party's host is welcoming every guest individually, each PC might have to make
an impression in their own way, or during infiltration, each PC might have to test their ability to Impersonate or Sneak. You'll likely find that some approaches should
be automatic successes if they're well-suited to the task, or automatic failures for ideas that are likely impossible.

Rewards

How you structure rewards for your subsystem depends greatly on its scope. A subsystem resolved in a single sitting usually gives accomplishment XP unless it is
particularly demanding, in which case it could be considered a full-scale encounter. Meanwhile, subsystems that span over the course of multiple sessions or the entire
campaign might generate accomplishment XP at meaningful milestones along the way. If you have a long-spanning subsystem that's fairly low profile and behind the
scenes or is not success-oriented, such as a subsystem to track what type of ruler the PCs' patron will become based on the PCs' decisions, you might not give XP
directly from the subsystem, since in that case "success" is undefined.

Gamemastery Guide, page 148.

Wellspring Magic

Wellspring magic wells up within characters so mightily that it can overwhelm them and explode out of their control. Characters with wellsprings can recover spells
throughout the day, powering through countless battles, but the overwhelming flow of magic could form a violent surge at any moment.

Rarity: Rare

Your wellspring, by definition, lies outside your full control. The inherent contradiction is that you have greater potential for power, but you can't use it exactly as you
wish. Regardless of whether you see it as a boon or a curse, it demands of you a degree of surrender if you're to use your magic at all.

A magic wellspring often comes as an intrinsic part of the caster's own magic, whether granted or inherited. Characters can also receive wellsprings of magic as gifts
from powerful entities or when they're released from other sources of potent magical energy. Being nearby when an artifact is destroyed or a powerful magical being
dies can, rarely, leave a permanent wellspring in a character.

Choosing the wellspring mage archetype below gives you the abilities related to this type of magic. This is a class archetype, chosen at 1st level as explained below.
Consider what source will be most satisfying for your character, and think about how they feel when experiencing the influx of wellspring magic. Does the wellspring
feel like a true part of your being? Like an unwanted outsider working its will through you? Like a problem to be solved? An aspect of yourself to come to terms with?
As noted in the archetype, high-stress situations cause the wellspring magic roll. You can work with your GM to refine what sorts of situations might be high-stress for
you that wouldn't be for other characters.

Using Wellspring Magic

Wellspring magic is most often appropriate for oracles who struggle to handle seemingly endless magic sent from the gods unasked, and for sorcerers with exceptional
raw power but not exceptional discipline. More rarely, a particularly interested muse might give a bard a wellspring of irresistible creative energy in exchange for using
it to humiliate or cast down a rival fey lord at exceptional personal risk. Summoners very rarely experience wellsprings because of the nature of their link to their
eidolon, but when they do, the wellspring is most often connected to a magical essence associated with the eidolon. When sent by an entity such as a god, this power is
generally an ambitious gamble to further one or more far-reaching schemes.

Multiclass Variant

As a variant, a GM can consider applying wellspring magic to characters with the oracle or sorcerer multiclass dedication to represent struggling to control their new
powers. If used this way, you might allow players who wish to represent their character mastering the surging power to remove the wellspring mage archetype when
they gain an appropriate level without retraining.

Areas of Wellspring Magic

A GM might implement wellspring magic in areas where there is an overload of magic or where magic is unstable. When using it in this way, you can apply chosen
effects of the wellspring mage archetype to all spellcasters in the area, or even give the archetype to spellcasters in the area as a temporary free archetype.
The ravaged Mana Wastes might be a good place to use this style of wellspring magic. For other planes, the extraplanar First World, home of the fey, and the chaotic
Maelstrom are excellent candidates.

You can find the Wellspring Mage archetype on the archetypes page.

Wellspring Surges

When your wellspring magic goes out of control, it becomes a wellspring surge. Typically, this happens when you fail the flat check from wellspring magic, but other
wellspring mage feats have effects that sometimes cause you to generate a wellspring surge, or might even cause your foes to do so.

Roll 1d20 and use Table 5–2: Wellspring Surges below to determine the surge's effect. If the effect calls for a damage type, the GM chooses the type based on the types
of spells you know or your current location. The wellspring surge uses your spell DC. You have no control over the way your wellspring surge manifests. You are the
point of origin for your wellspring surges, and you are not excluded from their effects. If you force a foe to generate a surge, they are the origin point of that surge
instead.

If your wellspring was granted by a being like a god or muse, the entity's intentions might sometimes alter the results of wellspring surges, or move the point of origin
for an area to any point within 30 feet if the GM determines this fits the situation. For example, instead of uncontrolled damage, the entity might choose to damage only
creatures opposing its plan, even if they are your allies.

A wellspring surge always has the trait of your magical tradition, plus any traits that appear in parentheses at the end of the surge's effects.

TABLE 5-2: Wellspring Surges

d20 Effect

1 Energy Unleashed Raw energy deals 2d6 damage per spell level of the surge (basic Reflex save) in a 10-foot burst.

2 Positive Energy Expulsion (healing, positive) Positive energy explodes outward, healing living creatures for 1d8 Hit Points per spell level of the surge in a
20-foot burst. Undead creatures instead take the same amount of positive damage, with a basic Will save.

3 Mass Siphon Creatures and objects within a 30-foot emanation become nearly weightless until the end of your next turn. Nearly weightless creatures
can Climb at their land Speed and can Leap as far upward as they could normally Leap horizontally.

4 Magical Nemesis (teleportation) A random creature connected to your magic (or inimical to it) appears within 60 feet. The creature should be of a level
approximately equal to the level of an animal summoned by summon animal of the spell level, although it can be of any type. The GM determines the specific creature.
The creature is unfriendly to you and friendly to your apparent enemies. After 1 minute, the creature can choose either to return where it came from or to remain. It is
not summoned or a minion.

5 Monstrous Transformation (mental, morph) Your head and arms transform into an exaggerated imitation of a creature connected to your magic for 1
minute. The GM determines the creature. You gain a status bonus to weapon and unarmed damage rolls equal to the spell level. At the start of each of your turns while
you are transformed, you must succeed at a Will saving throw or be confused until the start of your next turn. On a critical success, you can choose to end the effect
entirely, also losing the status bonus.

6 Sudden Gale (air) Weather in a 40-foot emanation is disturbed. Strong winds blow in a random direction for 1 minute. Each creature that starts its turn in the
area must succeed at a Fortitude save or fall prone (and be pushed 10 feet on a critical failure), and you must succeed at this save immediately after the surge. Any
movement against the wind is difficult terrain, or greater difficult terrain while flying.

7 Tremor (earth) The earth trembles in a 40-foot emanation. Each creature on a surface must immediately succeed at a Fortitude save or fall prone. The
surface then becomes difficult terrain for 1 minute.

8 Oppressive Voice (mental, nonlethal) The voice of your muse, your deity, an ancestor, or another appropriate entity suddenly overwhelms your mind. You
must attempt a Will saving throw. You take 1d4 mental damage per spell level with a basic Will save. On a failure, you're also stunned 1 (stunned 2 on a critical failure).

9 Trinket Squall Visual illusions of objects related to your magic fall like rain throughout a 40-foot burst for 1 minute, giving concealment in the area.
Creatures can attempt to disbelieve this illusion.

10 Antimagic Eruption The surge attempts to counteract a random spell active on you and on each creature within a 10-foot burst.

11 Mental Broadcast (detection, mental) For 1 minute, everyone within 30 feet of you can hear your surface thoughts.

12 Verdant Clutch (plant) Plants and vines grow from all surfaces within 20 feet, causing all creatures in the area to be immobilized unless they succeed at a
Reflex save. The Escape DC is equal to the spell DC.

13 Tinge of Terror (emotion, fear, mental) All creatures within 20 feet are affected by powerful fright. They attempt a Will save, becoming frightened 1 on a
failure or frightened 2 on a critical failure.

14 Strike up the Band (auditory) For 1 minute, you are followed by orchestral theme music tied to the emotional content of the actions you're performing. This
grants you a +2 status bonus to Diplomacy, Intimidation, and Performance checks, a –2 status penalty to Deception checks, and makes certain uses of Stealth virtually
impossible. It might have other effects as the GM sees fit.

15 Life Sap The surge drains your life force and strength. You become drained 1 and doomed 1, and you are enfeebled 2 for 1 minute.
16 Ablative Barrier Energy forms a protective barrier that ablates slowly as creatures in the area take damage. All creatures in a 40-foot burst gain resistance to
all damage equal to double the surge's spell level for up to 1 minute. Whenever a creature applies this resistance, the resistance for all affected creatures reduces by 1.
The effect ends for all creatures when it reduces to 0.

17 Luminous Pests (visual) Numerous tiny flying creatures formed of bright colorful light, such as bats or hummingbirds, emerge from you, flying in a 30-foot
cone. You and all creatures in the cone must succeed at a Will save or be dazzled for 1 minute, or blinded for 1 round and then dazzled for 1 minute on a critical failure.

18 Emotional Turmoil (emotion, mental) A swirl of conflicting emotions overwhelm you from the surging magic. For 1 minute, attempt a DC 11 flat check at
the start of each of your turns. On a success, you gain a +2 status bonus to all attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks; on a failure, you take a –2 status penalty to
them instead.

19 Sudden Downpour (water) Water cascades from above, putting out non-magical fires in a 10-foot burst and attempting to counteract magical fires.

20 Spell Surge You immediately cast any spell in your repertoire of the surge's spell level or lower (or from your prepared spells or innate spells if you don't
have a repertoire but have been forced to generate a wellspring surge). You must choose a spell that takes 3 or fewer actions to cast.

Secrets of Magic, page 248.

Common Crimes and Punishments

Crime Typical Punishment1
Murder Execution
Arson Execution
Summoning prohibited planar beings (varies by region) Execution
Treason Execution
Espionage 10 to 30 years labor often shortened as spies are exchanged or traded back to their home country
Torture Fifty lashes and 5 to 20 years hard labor, often followed by exile
Other atrocities Forty lashes and 3 to 10 years hard labor, often followed by exile
Manslaughter Twenty to fifty lashes, 3 to 15 years of labor, and/or a fine equal to 50% of the character's wealth
Creating undead Fifty lashes, 3 to 10 years of hard labor, and/or a fine equal to 40% of the character's wealth
Kidnapping Twenty to forty lashes and/or 2 to 8 years hard labor, often followed by exile
Enchantment major (dominate), Thirty lashes and/or a fine equal to 25% of the character's wealth, often followed by exile
Enchantment minor (charm), Ten lashes and/or a fine equal to 10% of the character's wealth
Assault & battery (permanent injury) Thirty lashes, 1 year hard labor, and/or a fine equal to 10% of the character's wealth
Assault & battery (no permanent injury) Ten lashes and/or a fine equal to 2% of the character's wealth
Cruelty to animals Five to twenty lashes and/or a fine equal to 5% of the character's wealth
Robbery Twenty lashes and/or 1 to 5 years hard labor
Burglary 1 to 3 years hard labor and/or fine equal to 20% of the stolen goods' value
Larceny 6 to 18 months hard labor and/or fine equal to 15% of the stolen goods' value
Embezzlement Return of all funds and a fine of 20% of what was stolen
Extortion Return of all funds and a fine of 20% of what was stolen
Possession of stolen goods Return of all goods and a fine equal to 10% of the goods' cost
Perjury A fine equal to 15% of the character's wealth
Forgery (official papers) A fine equal to 15% of the character's wealth
Forgery (other) A fine equal to 10% of the character's wealth
Blackmail A fine equal to 10% of the character's wealth
Fraud A fine equal to 10% of the character's wealth
Worship of banned gods 2 to 8 years hard labor and/or a fine equal to 20% of the character's wealth
Smuggling 1 to 5 years hard labor and/or a fine equal to 15% of the character's wealth
Vandalism Ten lashes and/or a fine equal to 2% of the character's wealth
Pickpocketing Five lashes and/or a fine equal to 1% of the character's wealth
Trespassing Two lashes and/or a fine equal to 1% of the character's wealth
Multiple offenses at once As most serious offense plus 50% of other sentences
Repeated offenses Increase the sentence by a quarter for each prior offense—excessive offenses result in execution
1
Punishments can vary from region to region. Countries in the Inner Sea that use fines typically link them to the character's ability to pay

High-Quality Armor
Quality Item Bonus Property Rune Slots Item Level Price
Expert +1 1 5 160 gp
Master +2 2 11 1,060 gp
Legendary +3 3 18 20,560 gp

High-Quality Weapons
Quality Item Bonus Property Rune Slots Item Level Price
Expert +1 1 2 35 gp
Master +2 2 10 935 gp
Legendary +3 3 16 8,935 gp

High-Quality Skill Item

Quality Item Bonus Item Level Price
Expert +1 3 40 gp
Master +2 9 550 gp
Legendary +3 17 11,000 gp