Acolyte of the Fist in Archons Decisive Factor System | World Anvil
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Acolyte of the Fist

Acolyte of the fist is perhaps a misnomer. Monks of ??? all hone their bodies, minds, and souls. Some are scribes, teachers, or ascetics. Most will never strike another in anger. Yet, the most famous acolyte was ????, well known as an acolyte of the fist. And those ignorant of ??? often assume anyone wearing the garb of an acolyte is trained in surpassing their limits and strike deadly blows with their bare hands. And sometimes, just sometimes, this stereotype is completely accurate.  

Domains

???'s Domains of the Disciplined body, the Enlightened mind, and the Pure Soul.  

Attributes

Acolytes are, as you might expect, averse to neglecting any of their attributes. Their physical attributes are important to their fighting and athletic prowess, but they also depend on Intuition for their extraordinary senses, Logic for the Spirit they draw upon to surpass their physical and mental limits, and then Soul for the Magic Power for the supernatural strength that pairs with their physical actions.  

Starting Skills

Melee: 2
Defense: 2
Medicine: 2
Athletics: 2
Perception: 2
Fortitude: 2
  3 points remain   (Note: Acolytes integrate their skills and talents. If you see a skill listed above that does not fit your ideals for the character, check the talents list to see how essential it is.)  

Starting Inventory

Loose Clothing: Quality 3. These robes and footwear are seemingly simple, but maximize your ability to perform feats of altheticism.
Medicine Bag: Quality 2. This is a handy kit of healing supplies.
 

Talent Advancement

  1. Martial Body
  2. Mind over Matter
  3. Layman's Magic Proficiency
  4. Pressure Point Manipulation
  5. Deadly Force
  6. Regeneration
  7. Unpredictable Style
  8. Sturdy Body
  9. Body of Iron, Mind of Steel
  10. Enhanced Senses
  11. Supernatural Resilience
  12. Thick Skin
 

Variants

With acolytes of the fist being such a versatile class, there are many ways to change their focus. You may find that some of the talents listed above do not fit your vision, and you can trade those out for talents that suit your playstyle better.   While many acolytes challenge themselves by fighting bare-handed, there's no reason they can't take up weapons and armor. Switching out Martial Body and a few other talents for more combat-oriented talents results in an armored warrior whose enlightened mind allows them to bypass the laws of nature.   Acolytes are usually stern and stoic, but they are balanced by Laughing Monks who are a bit more mischievous. These would replace some of the combat-oriented talents with more roguish or social talents. While many acolytes find Intuition to be their least useful attribute, acolytes of laughter find it their most important one.   An undisciplined acolyte who engaged in improper meditation could end up being consumed by darkness and take many of the berserker abilities, possibly even the transformation talents if they start becoming monstrous. Such acolytes will not have the power of a pure soul, and so will instead draw from the Domain of the four elements.   Finally, acolytes often have abilities that are fuelled by Magic Power. It's not much of a stretch to take a class with such mystic potential and add spellcasting abilities to them. Given their impressive physicality, consider playing them as a front-line fighter who uses their speed and physicality to charge into the thick of the fight. The points you would have put into Intuition can be put into Agility instead as you use touch casting to make mystic gestures and channel magical energy directly into your target's chakra points. And once you learn Mind over Matter you incorporate spells into punches instead. You can also use your magic to maintain supporting magic on yourself, or if you prefer, learn magic related to the four elements to shoot blasts of fire and air or bury opponents in the ground.

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