Just because I carry it so well doesn't mean it isn't heavy.
I don't think a discussion of Vigilante would be complete without talking about the archetypes. Many of them function as a "third" specialization, overwriting your identity as Avenger or Stalker. Some of them give spellcasting capabilities, turning them into a type of class I refer to as "utility half-caster" like bard or alchemist. Despite being Pathfinder's most populated category, I think Vigilante really shines among them.
First, a word about the other archetypes that I won't be covering here. They're fine, and mostly in the realm of "probably worse than standard, but not enough to be unplayable" that most Pathfinder archetypes sit in. Of note is the fact that many of them are inspired directly by pop culture superheroes. Notably, Agathiel, Brute, Gunmaster, and Wildsoul. They're perfectly playable save for Brute and its "attack my friends" bullshit, but I hate the idea of vigilante being so tied to modern superhero conventions and thus I hate them.
An aside. There's been a history of archetypes, prestige classes or powers where the character is exceptionally powerful, but has a chance to attack their allies. I have personal experience with a fellow player taking Frenzied Berserker in a game of Dungeons and Dragons 3e. These archetypes are tedious and exhausting, adding a "control the asshole" sub-game to the end of every fight. They're only fun for the person playing them, and only then if they're the sort that's obsessed with big numbers. If you enjoy them, you are stupid. Don't allow this kind of thing into your game.
Ahem. Vigilante's best archetypes are ones who introduce interesting twists, aesthetics or mechanics. Splintersoul comes to mind, its dual identity being less a disguise and more two separate people stuck in one body. Teisatsu turns you into something of a ninja-monk. It probably exists solely because of the character Iron Fist, but I'll let it slide for now. Experimenter is undeniably cool, evoking images of mad scientists experimenting on themselves. It's a shame that it's yet another "attack your friends" archetype, though this aspect could be removed without making the archetype too powerful.
So that leaves our spellcasters, which will be getting more detailed feedback. This is because they fundamentally change your style of gameplay more than the other archetypes. I might have called Teisatsu cool, but at the end of the day, you're still some weirdo in a mask who punches people. Adding spells and removing most of your vigilante talents is a much bigger change.
A final note: Every one of these archetypes gives up all of their vigilante talents except the ones at 2, 6, 12, 18 and 20. Since games very, very rarely make it past level 15, this means you have access to three vigilante talents. They also give up 2 skill points per level, putting them all at 4+INT per level. Since this is a commonality between all of them, this is the only time I'll mention it.
Cabalist. Our necromantic cult-joining friend casts spells on the magus progression and from the witch spell list. First off, if you're going to be a half-caster getting up to sixth level spells, Magus is probably the best progression. Your track is just a bit slower than a sorcerer at first, then gets a bit slower as time goes on: getting 2nd level spells at 4, 3rd at 7th, 4th at 10, and so on. You're behind, but it never feels debilitating.
Casting from the Witch spell list is prime utility. You get a little bit of everything: some cure spells, not restoration or its siblings but remove curse, blindness, disease, and break enchantment. Some evocations and buffs, some utility like scrying or , and a list of debuffs as long as your arm. A lot of Pathfinder's debuffs are lackluster, but Witch has got some of the greatest hits like bestow curse, enervation, stinking cloud and black tentacles. Is it a better spell list than either Cleric or Wizard? Well, no. Is it a buffet of useful stuff from both lists? Yes.
Finally, Cabalist's special abilities. They can take some good stuff with their very few talents, like Tattoo Chamber turning your hand into a staff/wand machine or the always-good-to-have Familiar. That's kind of where it ends, though. Shadow Jump is interesting but never really gets enough feet per day to feel useful. Living Shadow is interesting, but comes late and is pretty limited until you hit 14. Finally, Cabalist has this strange focus on bleed damage that I can't figure out. They can deal bleed damage against unaware or flat-footed foes and take a talent to further bolster this ability, but I just don't think it's very good. Even after they get further abilities surrounding bleed damage like stacking debuffs, a witch (who does not get the standard cleric buffs) is just plain unlikely to be running into melee to activate all of this instead of casting spells.
I like Cabalist. The weird bleed damage thing holds it back, but the only thing they give up for those abilities is Startling Presence and Frightening Presence. It's not a big loss.
Magical Child. IN THE NAME OF THE MOON, I WILL- alright, alright. I won't do any more of that. This extremely obviously inspired by "magical girl" anime archetype casts as an Unchained Summoner, both in progression and spell list. Unchained Summoner's spell progression is identical to Magus, and everything I said there could be repeated here. However, it's also a sorcerer spells known/per day style caster, and your mileage may vary greatly on if you think that's better or worse than memorizing spells. In my experience, it's a stylistic choice.
The Unchained Summoner spell list is, however... is not great. You get buffs, lots of buffs, and just enough of anything else to make it hard to say the spell list is Just Buffs. It's not "bad", exactly. You get some evocations, some good group buffs like Haste, and some of the game's better CC like grease, glitterdust, slow and stinking cloud. But that's it. You have an almost complete lack of utility in your spell list. Does that matter? You tell me, I suppose.
They get Transformation Sequence to make switching identities loud but fast. It's fun and thematic, but I don't think the fast transformation is worth it being very noticeable. It makes finding an opportunity to actually do it harder, and I don't like that. Animal Guide, however, basically makes up for it. You get Improved Familiar for free, and you can alter it several times until you hit 9th level, when it gains access to all four types of familiar it was. This means that that you can use the familiar to fill several different roles, even combat. A pretty obvious idea here is to take at least one of the spellcaster familiars like Imp or Lyrakien, then just swap to another one after all of its spells are depleted for the day.
Magical Child is okay. I'm not a big fan, but it's okay. Animal Guide is more than worth it, but I'm held back by the spell list which, again, you may not have a problem with. I do. It's got a few gems, but it's otherwise lackluster.
Warlock. It's got Magus-ass spellcasting and the Wizard spell list. I'm not going to waste much time here. I already gave the Magus progression glowing praise twice, and I'm not going to do it again. It's good, and you never feel too far behind. The wizard spell list is, as we all know, chock full of utility and will allow a Warlock to fill a variety of roles by just altering what they're memorizing. You don't get access to 7th, 8th and 9th level spells, but even lower-level spells can provide a wealth of utility.
Warlock's most prominent special ability is Mystic Bolts, which is a relatively minor amount of energy damage that you can take your iterative attacks with. There are ways to fluff its damage upward, but it's not terrible even without that. I mean, it may only be D6 plus change but it hits on touch AC. You can maybe get some value out of specializing into these attacks, but I see Mystic Bolts as only slightly above the sorcerer 1st level bloodline powers. You know, the ones I tell people to trade out. Your role in combat is likely to be casting spells, and only using Mystic Bolt for conservation. In that case, I guess I can damn it with faint praise: At least it's better than a wand of magic missile.
Fortunately, Warlock gets some decent talents. Elemental Armor is an okay scaling resistance to a single type of energy that also comes with some "thorns" damage. Familiars are always welcome, and Social Simulacrum can turn your dual identity into something virtually unbeatable by showing both of you in the same place. Tattoo Chamber is here too, and I welcome it with open arms, if only because I love the idea of having five wands or staves on tap at once.
Mystic Bolts might be a booby prize of an ability, but just like Cabalist and Spill Blood, it's not like you gave up basically anything to get it. Warlock's a damn fine choice and I can owe that determination almost solely to being a wizard-list spellcaster. Obviously I think it's neat, seeing as how I'm playing one at time of writing.
Zealot. They cast Inquisitor spells on the Inquisitor spell progression, which is the Magus progression again. As I write this, I'm slowly starting to realize that they just use the same progression for all of the "utility half-casters" and I feel silly for not noticing beforehand. Still, everything I said is true. You're only a little behind compared to full spellcasters.
The Inquisitor spell list is best described as a Cleric spell list that a Rogue had final edit privileges on. It's mostly a Cleric list, including its buffs, heals and status-removers. However, you also get a handful of "self capable" style utility like disguise self, invisibility, knock, Full Pouch and Insect Scouts. Inquisitor as a class has a vibe of "what if a rogue worked for The Church" and Zealot is no different.
You also get an inquisition, which provide an interesting variety of powers and is a welcome addition. Zealot's talents include a debuffed Channel Energy, Stalwart which functions as Evasion but for Fort and Will saves, and otherwise a bunch of middling crap. That's not so bad, considering you only get three choices to begin with, can still choose general Vigilante talents, and will definitely be taking Stalwart at 12.
Zealot can be seen as an Inquisitor that trades in several of its class abilities, including the iconic Judgement, for social talents and Dual Identity. It's up to you if you think that trade is worthwhile, but it's definitely a consideration I'd have. I wouldn't blame you, honestly: even with Solo Tactics, teamwork feats aren't that great.
Avenging Beast. I'll go over this one quickly, in part because it's blessedly, refreshingly simple and in part because it just came to my attention. It casts spells like a Hunter, which is the same progression as all the other ones. As for spell lists, it's colossal: it's all ranger spells, and all druid spells of 6th level and lower. They even explicitly use the lower of the two spell levels, meaning basically that you're a druid who can also cast a few things druid doesn't normally get like lead blades, hunter's lore or burst of speed.
Your sole other unique ability is wild shape, which you can only use to turn into the animal you chose when you made your big weird Avenging Beast animal mask which I didn't mention. That's not a big loss, depending on the animal you picked. It's only ever Beast Shape I, but it still serves as a solid combat buff that can bring some utility and qualify you for some interesting feats on its own. Avenging Beast doesn't have its own unique talents, so you're stuck picking from the short list of "general" vigilante talents available to all specializations. There are worse fates.
Avenging Beast is a decent option if you want to play something ranger-y or hunter-y without dealing with their unique abilities, or bear the stink of playing a ranger. I don't have to tell you that druid has a solid spell list.
So, this was predictably glowing. Utility focus is my favorite way to build a character, and I feel that Vigilante shines in that role. While other archetypes stack on top of Vigilante Specialization, these five feel like they belong to a third "spellcaster" specialization that's just as valid as Avenger or Stalker. Hell, in the case of Stalker, the Spellcaster Specialization beats the pants off it.
Until next time.
Until next time.
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