Retrograde Revision 1: Ancient Lorekeeper (Oracle Archetype; Elf)
(art by Nastya Baratova on Artstation)
Another day, another look into the blog’s past. I definitely was a bit more long-winded with this one, that makes the only 3 paragraphs that much more painful to read.
Mystics and historians, the elven oracles known as ancient lorekeepers are the dedicated historians and knowledge-preservers of the elven people. After all, living longer than most other ancestries only gets your so far if the knowledge and historical memory of your people does not reach so far back.
However, these are not just librarians or professional storytellers. Indeed, they are blessed with divine power, quite possibly by the elven pantheon which naturally has a vested interest in elves preserving their legacy.
As we will soon see, the elven history with arcane magic works it’s way into this archetype as well, being another one of those fun archetypes that blurs the lines between magical disciplines.
These archivists know more about magical lore and the customs and societies of the world than most oracles, and this only deepens when the conversation turns to elves as a people.
They also do not gain the normal spells of their mystery, instead selecting an arrangement of arcane spells to add to their arsenal, a perfect example of blending their divine magic with the arcane traditions so important to elven culture. However, these spells are somewhat more expensive to use due to the difficulties that divine magic has with parsing such spells.
This archetype also recommends a handful of various mysteries, ranging from those tied to knowledge, history, and of course the natural elements, that are thematically appropriate. That being said, you don’t have to take one of those if you do not wish to.
A fairly simple archetype, but one that promises a bit more (albeit specialized) knowledge utility with a selection of spells not normally available to the class. Whether they are elemental blasting, transmutations, or others, you should probably pick those not normally available on the cleric/oracle list. Figure that into what you have available with your normal spells and the revelations of your mystery, and there’s no telling what sort of magical arsenal and build you might come up with.
Of course, elves are not the only long-lived ancestry, so if you want to create a devotee of another people’s lore and pantheon, say, dwarves for instance, then you can and should. Heck, they don’t even have to be long-lived! You can just modify this archetype for any ancestry with a long history worth preserving, which is almost all of them!
Naraves Fairweather is a victim of her own knowledge. Centuries ago, her mentor imparted on her a terrible secret: the full truth behind the history of drow and surface elves. The horror of this knowledge has eroded her moral code in her desperation to suppress this information. When a party of foreign adventurers discovers relics tied to the secret, she will stop at nothing to silence them.
Deep in the depths of the earth are the secrets of the origin of the dwarven race. Brusq Tallowscar, a lorekeeper for his people, is mounting an expedition to learn more of the ancient dwarves. Little does the party know that his knowledge is more complete than he lets on, and plans on feeding the party as tribute to the subterranean gods once worshipped by his people.
A prophecy has predicted the return of the most powerful dragon to ever live in the form of an undead ravener, a beast well beyond the party’s ability. However, hope springs in the tale of how the dragon was originally defeated. Only the elven lorekeepers of the Wyrdwood know the complete, original version of the legend, and they do not part with their secrets easily.
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I'm not an expert, I know nothing about ornithology or biology or zoology or wildlife science or animal behaviours or animal intelligence, but sometimes I think about the fact that birdwatchers in Toronto observed a raven learn how to mimic crow calls, make a nest with a crow and raise a pair of crow-raven hybrids the birdwatchers referred to as cravens and I just think. That's gotta be love, baby.
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