Weekly Wonders - Archetypes of the Ancients Volume VI - Hyperborea

The Land of Light and Snow!

Plumbing ancient ruins in search of long-forgotten secrets and the power of lost civilizations is nothing new to adventurers. Few fantasy settings are without some lost civilization from ages before, which boasted magic or technology far more advanced than anything seen today. But if you’re going to go after mythical cities from bygone eras, you may as well go after the best of the best. Each installment of Weekly Wonders: Archetypes of the Ancients takes a single real-world mythological city, lost continent, or hidden kingdom and provides six archetypes specifically designed to invoke the themes and elements that that place is known for.

This book focuses on the mythical land of Hyperborea. Part of Greek mythology, Hyperborea was believed to be a pace found beyond the origin point of the North Wind. It was said to be a place where the sun shone all day and night, and to be inhabited by a race of giant humanoids. Some believe that legends of Hyperborea may, in fact, be based on tales of explorers that reached the Arctic Circle, but whether the story is based in fact or simply a legend, it is potent enough that it remains a recurring item in media and pop culture to this day. For the purposes of the archetypes in this book, we explore Hyperborea’s themes of frigid cold, powerful winds, and bright light. This book includes the following archetypes:

• The Hyperborean invoker, an arcanist archetype which can draw magical power from sunlight and summon powerful winds whenever she casts spells.
• The champion of Hyperborea, a brawler archetype of incredible size who knows how to use her mass to her advantage.
• The lord of wind and light, a kineticist archetype that can transform her body into wind or even light, and fire blasts of light that blind her foes.
• The spirit of Hyperborea, a shaman spirit that provides a number of abilities thematically related to hyperborean.
• The colossus of Hyperborea, a warpriest archetype that grows to incredible size, and can call upon the powers of sun worship to deal massive damage as well as heal his allies.
• A bonus archetype for the soulknife, from Psionics Unleashed by Dreamscarred Press, the sun’s blade is a soulknife whose blade is made of solar light, dealing more damage to creatures vulnerable to light, blinding foes it strikes, and more.

Whether you're about to embark on an archaeological campaign (such as the official Paizo adventure path dealing with seeking out the secrets of a lost and ancient civilization), or you just want to play a character with a connection to the ancient past, this book has lots of tantalizing options to offer. Even GMs can get in on the fun, as several of the archetypes here are perfect for NPCs tied to mythical places as well, and can make for exciting and memorable encounters.