Wildlands Cartographer – Bard Archetype

Some bards set out to explore the farthest reaches of uncharted lands, seeking to unlock the mysteries found there, to meet the inhabitants of such regions, and chronicle their findings, both in writing and in the illuminated maps which they make. The cartographer has discovered a connection to the wildlands and can use her bardic ability to guide herself and others through these regions safely.

Design Notes: Adapted from the Paizo’s Wasteland Chronicler.

Class Skills: A wildlands cartographer gains Survival and Swim as class skills; he loses Appraise and Sleight of Hand. This modifies the bard’s class skills.

Uncharted Knowledge (Ex) A wildlands cartographer adds half his level (minimum +1) as a bonus on Knowledge (geography), Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (planes), and Survival checks, and may make these checks untrained.

This replaces bardic knowledge, and is treated as bardic knowledge for prerequisites, and for feats and abilities which modify it.

Tireless Trekker (Ex): The wildlands cartographer gains Endurance as a bonus feat. This replaces Well Versed.

Terrain Specialist (Ex): To bolster their survival skills, these bards also learn to become one with a uncharted lands, and they focus on those that are removed from most of civilization.

At 3rd level, the wildlands cartographer gains the benefits of the favored terrain feature of an unchained ranger of her level, but the wildlands cartographer cannot prepare any sort of urban or developed terrain as a favored terrain. At 7th level, she may prepare a terrain as her hunting ground per the ranger’s same ability. If she gains the favored terrain ability from another class, then her bard levels stack with any of these class levels to determine the progression of this ability. As a bardic performance using Perform (Sing or Oratory), she may confer these benefits to her allies at a cost of 1 round of bardic performance, per creature. Confering some benefits may be unfeasible — such as Stealth — and may be disallowed by the GM.

In addition, the wildlands cartographer adds her favored terrain bonus on Diplomacy checks to influence the attitude of native dwellers in her prepared terrain (but not in her hunting ground).

This replaces inspire competence; any effect that adds to, or diminishes the effective level of bardic performance also applies to this ability.

Talented Traveler: In place of a versatile performance, the wildlands cartographer may select certain talents from the Unchained Ranger’s talent list, using her bard level as her effective ranger level to determine their benefits and when she may choose them; each of these talents can only be chosen once: Adaptable Voyager; Dedicated Geographer; Deep Swimmer, High Climber; Environmental Adaptability, Nature’s Stride, Planar Scout, Planeswalker, Portal Seeker, Swift Step, Terrain Dominance, Terrain Mastery, or Trackless Step.

This alters, but does not replace, versatile performance.