Weekly Wonders - Archetypes of the Ancients Volume III - Mu

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 continent of Mu. At one time, popular archaeological theory held that a lost continent of Mu, situated somewhere in the Atlantic ocean, had been the home of an ancient civilization with advanced culture and, in particular, advanced engineering and stoneworking skills. This theory went on to elaborate that the great monuments of several other ancient civilizations, such as Egypt and Mesoamerica, were built by refugees from Mu after that land sunk beneath the waves. As a result, the archetypes in this book focus heavily on feats of incredible engineering and construction, as well as a deep and mystical connection with stone and stonework.

• The child of Mu, a barbarian  archetype whose body transforms into living stone when they rage.
• The stonekin, a druid archetype with a wide variety of stone-related powers.
• The stone regent, a hunter archetype whose loyal companion is a stone guardian, a powerful animated creature made of stone that fights by his side.
• The monument master, an occultist archetype that reads the psychic energies of places and monuments, and can ward them against harm.
• The Mu sorcerer bloodline, which specializes in manipulating stone and creating stone structures.
• A bonus discipline for the cryptic, from Psionics Unleashed by Dreamscarred Press, the stone cipher is able to manipulate the harmonic frequencies of stone to create devastating traps.

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.