Furyborn... An Overlooked Pathfinder Enchantment

Magic weapons are one of those things characters tend to acquire as they advance in level in Pathfinder classic. However, it's particularly easy to get caught up in all the choices for weapon enchantments as we try to figure out which options are going to be most effective against the particular enemies we're fighting, which ones work best with our character's class features, and which ones provide the most bang for our buck.

There is an enchantment that often falls through the cracks, though, and it's easy to overlook it if you aren't the sort of player who goes through rulebooks from cover to cover. And if you didn't dig into Ultimate Equipment (which I would recommend getting a copy of if you haven't), you may have missed the Furyborn enchantment.

Do not test me, for my fury has no limits.

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A Deadly Enchantment For All Occasions

The Furyborn enchantment is born of the frustration from a warrior whose enemy refuses to lay down and die. It is a +2 enchantment that can be placed on any melee weapon, and every time the weapon hits a single target, the enhancement bonus increases by +1 to a total of +5. So even if you have your weapon as a +1 furyborn weapon, a single hit raises it to +2, a second raises it to +3, and so on, and so forth, until you have a +5 furyborn weapon.

The bonus resets if you attack a different target than the original, the original target dies, or 1 hour passes.

Just die... it's the only way to end this!

Now, on the one hand, that likely sounds pretty good. After all, if you have a character with a full base attack bonus who can take iterative attacks, every hit you land makes you more likely to hit again, and adds a little bit of bonus damage. Because a +5 enhacement to hit (and the +5 enhancement to damage that comes with it), ain't nothing to sneeze at.

But there's another benefit that comes with a weapon's enhancement bonus that a lot of us simply don't think about. If you look in the back of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook on page 562, it lists the kinds of damage reduction that's overcome when a weapon has a high enough enhancement bonus. If a creature has DR that's overcome by silver or cold iron, then a weapon with an enhancement bonus of +3 ignores that ability. DR that normally requires an adamantine weapon to bypass can be ignored by a weapon that has an enhancement bonus of +4. And if a creature has alignment-based DR, that can be overcome by a weapon with an enhancement bonus of +5.

So if you're fighting a werewolf with your furyborn weapon, the first two hits will apply its DR, but after that your furry friend will take the full brunt of your blows. If it's later in the game and you're opposing devils, demons, or even angels (it's hard to say where your campaign will go), connecting with 4 hits means that your weapon is now going to pierce their protections and cut into them... and if you're a full-BAB martial character, that can mean you're only sacrificing a round or two to overcome your enemy's biggest defense.

And, of course, an extra handful of damage can really make a difference in conjunction with your general combat strategy... especially if you're confirming critical hits and multiplying that damage by 2, 3, or more!

So, if you're not sure what kind of weapon enchantment will work for your next game, consider grabbing this one for your melee weapon. Especially if you are the sort of player who likes to focus on a single enemy until they are down for the count, and out of the fight.

Further Reading Recommendations

If you enjoyed this week's advice, consider checking out the following Pathfinder RPG supplements as well!

- Sellswords of Sundara: A collection of 10 mercenary companies, each one comes with its own, unique class archetype!

- Feats of Legend: 20 Story Feats: One of the capstone pieces from the Feats of Legend series, this one covers one of the most under-utilized feat choices that can be extremely rewarding in a Pathfinder campaign.

- Pathfinder Player Companion: Bastards of Golarion: My first official contribution to the Golarion setting, this one covers a variety of tricks that can be a serious boon to adventurers who want to come out ahead.

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Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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The Calistrian Dom

Sacred prostitutes have served the church of Calistria for centuries. While the goddess herself is depicted as an exemplar of elven beauty and grace, the church knows that attraction is in the eye of the beholder. Many of the church's servants would be considered homely, or downright ugly, by some. To others, the dark, deviant, or otherwise monstrous is what gets their blood bubbling. Which is why, in the private chambers behind the altars to the Savored Sting, it is far from uncommon to hear the crack of a whip just before a mewl of pleasure.

That's ten hail Mary's. This is Mary.

How would such an unusual profession make someone an ideal party member? Well, since you asked...

The Mechanics

Before we get into the hairy issues that can come with the character's story, let's start with the mechanics. Your two background traits should be Calistrian Prostitute (which gives you a +1 bonus on Sense Motive and Diplomacy, making one of them a class skill), and a trait that gives you a bonus to Intimidate. Bully, Viking Blood, and others are an option, and each can give you a unique twist on the basic concept of, "The Hand Who Holds The Whip."

Next, we're going to move onto class. Bard is ideal, since they get the whip as a starting weapon, they benefit from a high Charisma score, they have a huge list of skills including Diplomacy, Sense Motive, Bluff, and Intimidate, and many of their spells can play right into the flavor of this idea. From Charm Person, to Dominate Person, and with spells like Animate Rope, Enthrall, and Hideous Laughter available (yes, tickle torture is a thing for some people), you have a pretty good arsenal at your disposal.

Also, while we're on the subject, you should stop in and take a look at 5 Tips For Playing Better Bards.

Don't knock it till you try it.

 

The question you really need to ask yourself, when it comes to your character, is what's your focus? Because if you're going to focus more on your magic, you'll probably want feats like Spell Focus, Greater Spell Focus, Combat Casting, and the like. A focus on enchantment would likely serve you well. If you would rather focus on using your whip, then you might want to take feats like Whip Mastery, Improved Trip, Improved Disarm, and on in like vein. It's hard to kill someone with a whip, even a scorpion whip if you go that route, but you can force your enemies to fight under seriously negative circumstances, giving you a big bonus. Especially if you pair your attacks with something like Dazzling Display in order to demoralize all enemies within 30 feet.

For more on using Intimidate in combat, you might want to read through How To Weaponize Your Intimidate Check in Pathfinder. It's got some good advice you could apply to this concept.

Playing The Fluff

Despite the existence of sex and sexuality in the world of Golarion, not every table is going to rejoice at what they may view as a sexualized character concept. Even if you subvert the normal stereotype by playing your Calistrian Dom as a male instead of the more usual (and often lambasted) Dominatrix, you may still have some players who are uncomfortable with it. As any good Dom should do, gauge the table, and don't make anyone uncomfortable who doesn't want to be that way.

Some cuffs don't have padding specifically for that reason.

 

Flavor-wise, it's important not to get hung up on the fact that your character is a sacred prostitute. That's part of who they are, and likely a big part as it takes up a whole background trait, but it shouldn't be the entirety of your character. Nor should it be played out like a crass, offensive stereotype. We're trying to play an unusual character here, and we've all seen this done poorly too many times to count.

If you want to make it subtle, then you need to look for opportunities to work it into your performance. For example, if you have hostages that need interrogated, ask for some time alone with them. Make the appropriate checks, and work out a scene with your DM to see what sort of information you get. All the rest of the party hears is the whip crack, the rattle of chains, and other accouterments, but when the "session" is over your captives seem perfectly unharmed. Perhaps a little wrung out, and definitely sweating, but otherwise fine. Also, they've told you everything they know. They might even be your friends by that point, or on the way to considering changing churches.

You could give other, subtle clues to your character's true calling, without blatantly pushing it in the table's face. For example, you have an intense knowledge of rope and knots, and you refuse to carry hemp rope. Maybe you even acquired some fine, spider-silk rope as a gift, and you show off how soft and smooth it is against the skin, while still being hard as steel. Perhaps you know a great deal about leather, manacles, and about caring for wounds. Individually, these areas of know-how aren't suspicious, but when you put them all together, it can lead people down a subtle train of deduction until they discover your ecclesiastical training.

Most importantly, though, remember that this concept is not a free pass to go around demanding other players act a certain way. It doesn't work that way in real life, either. The Dom's job is to get under someone's skin, into their heads, and to play their emotions and psychology like a fine instrument, until that person dances to his tune with no more than a plucked string.

Of course, "Kneel," will always be a viable command for Dominate Person.

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned For More!

That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a game master.

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my alley cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my most recent collection of short stories The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!