Patreon Drop: Esoteric Treasures

Hey there patrons! This week I have for you some new Akashic Treasures and an archetype to use them!

Esoteric Archeologist (Promethean Archetype)

Rather than delving into ancient and forbidden secrets, the esoteric archeologist works to uncover ancient and sealed artifacts of great power that alter themself and their veils.

Reduced Essence: The esoteric archeologist gains 1 fewer point of essence at 2nd level, and every 2 levels thereafter.

This modifies the promethean's essence pool. This ability does not conflict with other archetypes that reduce the promethean's essence pool as long as the total reduction doesn't cause the promethean to gain a negative amount of essence at any given level.

Esoteric Artifacts (Su): At 3rd level, esoteric archeologist has uncovered their first esoteric artifact; an object of power attuned to their eldritch insights and soul. When the esoteric archeologist shapes their veils for the day (or once per day by meditating for one hour if they do not shape veils), they choose a single akashic treasure that each of their esoteric artifacts emulates the effects of. The esoteric archeologist can adorn or remove their esoteric artifact to or from themself or any veil they have shaped as part of this hour spent meditating; after this hour, it takes 1 minute to adorn or remove an esoteric artifact. If the esoteric archeologist is not a veilweaver, they use their promethean level as their veilweaving level when determining the effects of their esoteric artifacts. This class feature counts as the ability to adorn akashic treasures for the purposes of meeting prerequisites.

The esoteric archeologist’s artifacts can be shared with other creatures, allowing others to make use of them as well. If an esoteric artifact is lost or destroyed, or if the esoteric archeologist wishes to recover it from a creature they have allowed to use it, they can restore it to form and have it magically return to them as part of shaping their veils each day.

Esoteric artifacts can be adorned to a veil alongside other akashic treasures, but not alongside catalyzed treasures or other esoteric artifacts.

Esoteric artifacts can be adorned to willing creatures, rather than only veils, with the following restrictions:

• Creatures can be adorned with esoteric artifacts that can normally only adorn veils that produce weapons, armor, or shields. When doing so, they can choose to have that treasure affect weapons they are wielding, or armor or shields they are wearing. Any given object can only be affected by one of these treasures at a time, the adorned creature can change which of their objects are affected by each of their adorned esoteric artifacts once per round as a free action on their turn, and any object must be a valid object for the artifact they benefit from. For example, if an akashic treasure can only adorn veils that produce melee weapons, its effects can only be applied to melee weapons in this way. If the adorned creature has the Adorned Fists feat, they can also adorn their unarmed strikes with one treasure in this way as well. If the adorned creature has the ability to shape veils, they cannot affect a weapon, armor, or shield produced by a veil in this way if the veil producing that object is already adorned with a treasure.

• An esoteric artifact adorned to a creature rather than a veil can be sundered as if it is an item that creature is holding or wearing. They have hardness equal to the esoteric archeologist's class level, and must suffer a number of points of damage in a single attack equal to twice their class level to be successfully sundered. If successfully sundered, the adorned creature cannot use that esoteric artifact and the effects of that esoteric artifact are suppressed for 1d4 rounds.

Unlike other akashic treasures, esoteric artifacts do not have their effects determined by the essence invested in the veil they are adorned to: esoteric artifacts draw their power from themself and the soul of the esoteric archeologist. The esoteric archeologist treats one of their esoteric artifacts as empowered, and the remainder of their esoteric artifacts are unempowered. Empowered artifacts are treated as if they were adorning a veil invested with a number of points of essence equal to 1 + 1 per 3 of the esoteric archeologist’s class levels, and unempowered treasures are treated as if they were adorning a veil with a number of points of essence invested equal to 1 per 5 class levels. The esoteric archeologist can change which treasure they are treating as empowered as a swift action, or as part of reinvesting their essence, but they may only ever change which artifacts they treat as empowered once per round. 

At 7th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the esoteric archeologist gains an additional esoteric artifact.

At 11th level, and again at 19th level, the esoteric archeologist may treat an additional one of their artifacts as empowered.

This replaces the promethean’s forbidden knowledge class feature.

Promethean Forbidden Knowledge

Uncovered Artifact (Su)

You have uncovered an ancient and hidden artifact of akashic power.

You gain an esoteric artifact, as per the esoteric archeologist’s esoteric artifacts class feature. Unlike the esoteric archeologist, your esoteric artifact is not empowered or unempowered. Instead, it is an essence receptacle, and it treats the essence invested in itself as the essence invested in its adorned veil when determining its effects. Your esoteric artifact granted by this piece of forbidden knowledge is considered a piece of forbidden knowledge when determining how it can be invested and its essence capacity.

You can select this piece of forbidden knowledge multiple times, granting you an additional esoteric artifact each time it is selected. Each esoteric artifact gained in this way is a unique essence receptacle.

Akashic Treasures

Airy Labradorite

This treasure must adorn a veil that produces a melee weapon. As a standard action, you can make a melee attack using a melee weapon produced by the adorned veil against a single creature within your reach, causing a line of air to erupt from the target's space with a length of 15 feet + 5 feet per point of essence invested in the adorned veil. Make a single melee attack roll and compare it to the AC of the target, and each creature in the line. If this attack is a critical threat, make a confirmation roll against each creature individually. Each struck creature takes damage as if struck by the weapon. The initial target takes 1 additional point of damage per odd point of essence invested in the adorned veil. The air conjured by this treasure fades away after the attack resolves, and this ability is not affected by spell resistance.

Deft Crossguard

This treasure must adorn a veil that produces a melee weapon able to be affected by Weapon Finesse. Whenever you make a melee attack using the weapon produced by the adorned veil, if you are using Dexterity to determine your bonus to attack rolls and Strength to determine your bonus to damage rolls, you deal additional damage with your attack equal to the essence invested in the adorned veil. This does not stack with similar effects, such as the Finesse Fighting equipment sphere talent.

Earthen Malachite

This treasure must adorn a veil that produces a melee weapon. As a standard action, you can make a melee attack using a melee weapon produced by the adorned veil against a single creature within your reach, causing a burst of earth to erupt surrounding them in a 5-foot radius + 5 feet per three points of essence invested in the veil. Make a single melee attack roll and compare it to the AC of the target, and each creature in the radius other than yourself. If this attack is a critical threat, make a confirmation roll against each creature individually. Each struck creature takes damage as if struck by the weapon. The initial target takes 1 additional point of damage per odd point of essence invested in the adorned veil. The earth conjured by this treasure fades away after the attack resolves, and this ability is not affected by spell resistance.

Metalline Darts

The adorned veil produces a number of metallic darts that can be thrown at your foes. These darts can be drawn from the veil and thrown as a thrown attack, are treated as a simple weapon, have a damage die of 1d4, and a critical threat rate of 20x2. They are treated as magical for the purposes of bypassing damage reduction. The veil has a maximum number of darts equal to 1 + the number of points of essence invested in the adorned veil; one thrown dart regrows from the veil at the end of each of your turns, or you can spend a move action that provokes attacks of opportunity to briefly meditating to cause all of the veil’s darts to regrow.

You gain an insight bonus to attack rolls with these darts equal to the essence invested in the veil, and an insight bonus to damage rolls with these darts equal twice the amount of essence invested. When at least two points of essence are invested in the adorned veil, the darts are treated as being made of cold iron and silver. When at least five points are invested, they are also treated as being made from adamantine and mithril.

Miniature Trident

This treasure must adorn a veil that produces a weapon. The weapons produced by the adorned weapon are less affected by fighting underwater. If the adorned veil’s weapons aren’t piercing weapons, they are treated as a piercing weapon for the purposes of determining their penalties when using them to attack underwater. If the adorned veil’s weapon can be thrown, it can be thrown underwater but it suffers the same penalties for doing so as a ranged weapon.

When making ranged and thrown attacks with the adorned veil’s weapons, you treat the penalty for attacking through spaces of water as 2 lower per point of essence invested in the adorned veil (to a minimum of 0, excluding the normal penalties for fighting underwater). For example; if you attack a creature 25 feet away underwater with a ranged attack, you would normally suffer a -10 penalty to your attack (in addition to the normal penalties for making attacks underwater). If the adorned veil was invested with four points of essence, that penalty would be reduced to -2.

Quicksilver Cylinder

This treasure must adorn a veil that produces a crossbow or firearm. This treasure takes on a form similar to a revolver’s cylinder formed from flowing quicksilver that forms around and merges with the weapon produced by the veil. When the adorned veil is invested with essence, this quicksilver forms a number of chambers that can be loaded with ammo equal to 1 + 1 per three points of essence invested in the adorned veil beyond the first. One of these chambers can be loaded with ammunition appropriate to the veil’s weapon as a move action, or all can be loaded at once as a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. The time required to load these chambers cannot be reduced, and if the veil produces its own ammo, you can choose to load these cylinders with ammunition produced by the veil rather than manufactured ammunition.

Whenever you fire the weapon produced by the veil, you can choose to fire a piece of ammunition loaded in one of this treasure’s chambers rather than the ammunition loaded in the veil, and the weapon is treated as loaded and ready to fire as long as either itself or one of the veil’s cylinders is loaded. If you remove essence from the adorned veil and it would reduce the number of cylinders this treasure produces, you lose the ability to fire the ammunition loaded in the lost cylinder until you invest enough essence back into the adorned veil. If some of the treasure’s cylinders are loaded and some are unloaded, you lose the ability to use loaded cylinders first (if they are loaded with different ammunition, you choose which loaded cylinder you lose the ability to fire when you uninvest the essence). If the adorned veil is suppressed, all of these cylinders are lost in this way. You can unload ammunition loaded in a lost cylinder as a move action that provokes an attack of opportunity, even if the veil is suppressed.

Whenever you spend a round without firing the weapon produced by this veil, you can load one of the treasure’s cylinders as a free action at the beginning of your turn.

If the adorned veil is unshaped while the treasure’s cylinders are loaded, or if the akashic treasure is somehow removed from the adorned veil without unshaping it, any ammunition loaded into the treasures is removed (it appears in a free hand if you have a hand free, otherwise it falls to the ground in your space). 

Selenite Spiral

This treasure must adorn a veil that produces a melee weapon, empowers your unarmed strikes or melee natural attacks, or grants you a melee natural attack. Whenever you charge using the adorned veil’s weapon, unarmed strike, or natural attack, you do not need to move in a straight line provided that no space you move into while charging is farther away from the target than the space you are leaving. You must still be able to see your target at the beginning of your charge, and you cannot use this ability while mounted. Additionally, for every two points of essence invested in the adorned veil, your speed while charging using the adorned veil’s weapon, unarmed strike, or natural attack increases by +5 feet.

Tidal Opal

This treasure must adorn a veil that produces a melee weapon. As a standard action, you can make a melee attack using a melee weapon produced by the adorned veil against a single creature within your reach, causing a cone of rushing water to erupt from the target's space with a length of 10 feet + 5 feet per two points of essence invested in the adorned veil. Make a single melee attack roll and compare it to the AC of the target, and each creature in the cone. If this attack is a critical threat, make a confirmation roll against each creature individually. Each struck creature takes damage as if struck by the weapon. The initial target takes 1 additional point of damage per odd point of essence invested in the adorned veil. The water conjured by this treasure fades away after the attack resolves, and this ability is not affected by spell resistance.

OGL

15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Open Game License v 1.0 © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

System Reference Document. © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors: Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

Patreon Drop: Esoteric Treasures © 2025 Studio M—, Authors Hal Kennette.

Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, © 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.